Ellen marries Liam, and they have two children. She is settling when she has to confront the idea that Liam has had an affair with one of the few people who has befriended Ellen. Then she must go home for her mother’s funeral. Her mother has treated Ellen with less than a mother’s love since she left her first husband.

Three strands keep the novel moving at different levels. There is the friction that is always present between Ellen and her family (especially her mother); there is the constant comparison of the cultures of Northern and Southern Ireland; and there is the constant decision as to how Ellen will use or not use her talents.

I find Ellen to be a complex character who changes as time and situation demand, and at her mother’s funeral she begins to make some sense of her life. A good read.