For Kieran its his Irish roots, for Michael its Kierans girlfriend, for Kierans girlfriend it’s God—some infatuations are so explosive it takes years for the dust to settle Its 1982, and the summer is oppressive. Twin brothers Michael and Kieran—gasping for air in the middle of an eccentric family that only outsiders find enchanting—are visiting their grandparents in C For Kieran its his Irish roots, for Michael its Kierans girlfriend, for Kierans girlfriend it’s God—some infatuations are so explosive it takes years for the dust to settle Its 1982, and the summer is oppressive. Twin brothers Michael and Kieran—gasping for air in the middle of an eccentric family that only outsiders find enchanting—are visiting their grandparents in County Cork. The questions and entanglements born of that stifling trip are to shape the rest of their lives. Returning to Britain, the brothers don’t know whether to call themselves English or Irish. Years later, the fiery young woman unannounced on Michaels doorstep doesn’t know which of them to call her father. Shifting between periods of threat and unrest, this is a bold novel of passion, religion, and politics. It is about lifes flashpoints, the quiet violence that can shape us, the pressures of expectation, and the seduction of belonging, whatever the cost.