It is the summer of 1920 and Ireland is inturmoil. The British army andthe Black and Tans are at war with Sinn "Fein and the mainly Catholic Royal Irish Constabulary is caught in the middle...Sergeant Driscoll, the loyal chief of the policestation in Gortnahinch, maintains a delicatebalance between his private sympathies and his publicduty, but his position is continually undermined by the actions of Ambrose Mercer, the ruthless and embittered manager of Odron House and its estates, who takes pleasure in provoking the local tenantry to the point of open rebellion.Mercer is determined to get his handson the Odron land and has embarked on a torrid affairwith the eldest daughter of the house, the amoral Elizabeth. Her mother Amelia, a virtual recluse since the death of her much-loved husband, is powerless to stop Mercer in his relentless ambition, for he has a strong and shameful hold over her neither of them willever forget...Against this colourful and dramatic backgroundDavid Marcus unfolds a mesmerizing storyof love and loyalty, villainy and hate."SPLENDID ENTERTAINMENT"Sean McMahon, IRISH INDEPENDENT