Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses the novel’s treatment of death and grief, sexual abuse, physical abuse, alcohol addiction, and gun violence.

A local tragedy, in which a father murdered his family, is the subject of gossip and morbid speculation.

Cass Barnes and Elaine attend the same high school and are best friends. They are equally excellent students and maintain the highest grades in their year. They are both determined to leave their small town, which they find boring, a town in which everybody knows everybody else’s business and the central bonding of the community are the Gaelic sports teams.

Like most people, Elaine is hypnotized by the beauty and magnetism of Cass’s mother Imelda’s, which makes Cass jealous. Cass is nervous that Elaine will figure out Cass’s family secret. Though the Barnes family has the appearance of wealth because her father, Dickie, owns a car dealership, the truth is that business has slowed down significantly, and Cass’s family is financially struggling. Meanwhile, even though Elaine’s father Big Mike recently lost out on a big business deal building houses in the town, he can still afford a luxurious lifestyle.