There's a killer on the premises of Christy Burke's pub in Dublin, according to graffiti spray-painted on the wall. Father Brennan Burke, Christy's grandson, is asked to investigate the vandalism. Brennan has been tending bar a bit himself and is not all that keen on probing into the lives of his clientele. But he has little choice once a body is found and the property investigation becomes a murder inquiry. For Brennan, the murder investigation is overshadowed by even more ominous events in Belfast, events that may be coming home to roost in Christy Burke's. Brennan is compelled to take a hard look at Irish history and his family's place in it when an act of violence in Northern Ireland sends out shockwaves that reverberate all the way to Dublin.