Retired Chicago police detective Cal Hooper is living a quiet life in Ardnakelty, Ireland. His spends his time fixing up his ramshackle home, sitting by the fire with his fiancé Lena Dunne, and woodworking with teenage Trey Reddy. Trey is growing up and finding her way in the world, while Cal and Lena are navigating shifts in their relationship. Other than occasional gatherings at the local pub with his neighbours, or trips to the local shops, Cal keeps to himself. When a local girl, Rachel Holohan, goes missing and is found dead, the community is divided. Did she take her own life, was it an accident, or was she killed? Everyone in the townland has a view on this, and many think it has something to do with the Moynihans, a powerful family that has been buying up land in the area to build a factory. Rumours abound, and while Cal wants to stay out of it, he cannot as the gossip now includes Lena and him.French has captured the fictional community so vividly, with its multi-generational, layered history, that it is easy to see how rumours are traded as currency. Placing an outsider like Cal into this town helps to explain the intricacies of this community, and how they double-down to protect their own.