It’s 1945. The war is over and Matt McCartan is mustered out of the army just in time to attend his father’s funeral. Matt and his father always had an estranged relationship and because of that Matt knows almost nothing about his father’s life and childhood. While going through his father’s papers he discovers a single clue that might shed light on who his father was: a faded envelope with a return address of Ballyturan, Ireland.

Seeking further information, he composes a letter to the village priest asking if he, or someone in the village, knew his father. The priest doesn’t respond, but a young woman does and her shocking letter sets Matt off on a journey of discovery to find out not only who his father was, but who he is.

He arrives at Ballyturan, a small village on the Dingle Peninsula, only to learn that there is more to this sleepy village than meets the eye.

Why does the village priest lie to him? Why does the richest man in Dingle threaten him? And what secrets are the village butcher and a local farmer keeping from him? The only one in Ballyturan who seems to have any answers is a man whom everyone in the village thinks is mad. But to Matt, he’s the only one in Ballyturan who makes sense.

Eventually, Matt peels away layer upon layer of secrecy and mendacity and treachery to uncover the shocking and unhappy sad truth about his father.