Roisin and Red are two teenagers growing up in a small town in Ireland in the early 1980s. When Red gets into trouble, he flees to London leaving Roisin puzzled and bereft at his sudden departure.

Years later Roisin is also in London and determines to find Red and renew their friendship, and more. But she struggles to track him down, or to find out what caused him to leave or what has happened to him in the interim. 

In her search, Roisin embarks on other relationships and discovers things about herself of which she wasn't aware. And will she ever find Red?

The book does not have as much clarity, for me, as Kennedy's award-winning debut 'Trespasses', but the heavy, dark atmosphere, the complex and intriguing characters, and the intricacy of life and beliefs is powerful and thought-provoking.