1901 Cork can sound very similar to New York to foreign ears & tired brains so it's no surprise that Ruth's family
- Jewish refugees fleeing the European pogroms
- mistakenly disembark from their boat to America a few stops & a few countries too soon Still her father can spin a story like pure silk so surely Ireland's just a layover till he writes his great play & they can continue their journey west 1958 He's still not spoken It's been years since Shem was struck mute at his bar mitzvah forcing his mother to hand him over to the care of Catholic nuns There aren't too many of his kind in Ireland let alone in the sanatorium so it's a lonely existence but at least his secret is safely locked up in his mouth & kept behind closed doors where it can never hurt the one person he loves 2013 Aisling came to London to escape the Irish recession & concentrate on her career not to fall in love with a part-time magician She would marry him in a heartbeat if only his family didn't insist that the ceremony should be performed by a rabbi Unsure whether to give up her own heritage for some else's Aisling looks to the past
- from a rootless girl who never saw America to an outcast boy who never spoke again
- to see if she can decide on her future