Spring 1832: Donegal, north west Ireland. Coll Coyle wakes to a blood dawn and a day he does not want to face. The young father stands to lose everything on account of the cruel intentions of his landowner's heedless son. Although reluctant, Coll sets out to confront his trouble. And so begins his fall from the rainsoaked, cloud-swirling Eden, and a pursuit across the wild bog lands of Donegal. Behind him is John Faller - a man who has vowed to hunt Coll to the ends of the earth - in a pursuit that will stretch to an epic voyage across the Atlantic, and to greater tragedy in the new American...

When his byre - and the forty-three cows within it - goes up in flames, Barnabas Kane asks the rural community for help to get his family back on their feet, yet all his requests yield are suspicion and sanctimony. Humiliated, Barnabas grows ever more indignant. Before long this anger makes its mark on an innocent, and toil turns to tragedy.

Early one October morning, Grace's mother snatches her from sleep and brutally cuts off her hair, declaring, 'You are the strong one now.' With winter close at hand and Ireland already suffering, Grace is no longer safe at home. And so her mother outfits Grace in men's clothing and casts her out. A meditation on love, life and destiny, This Time of Light is an epic coming-of-age novel.

A powerful novel from the author of Grace , winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year