Emily Lynch arrives from America to the fictional Dublin neighborhood of St. Jarlath Crescent and, in her encouraging and resourceful way, rehabilitates the lives of everyone she meets.

The main plot line centers around her cousin, Noel, an alcoholic who still lives at home, who finds out from a dying girlfriend that she is expecting his baby that he doesn't remember conceiving.

Noel accepts the challenge of single parenthood with the help of family and friends, including characters from previous Binchy novels Heart and Soul and Scarlet Feather.

These topics include: email, text messaging, redundancy, recession, addiction, cancer, and paternity testing.

[4] Shay Linehan, playwright-in-residence at the Irish Classical Theatre Company, adapted the novel for a 2017 play.