Nora Webster is a woman in her 40s who lives in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland: the area where she was born and raised. In the weeks following the recent death of her husband, Maurice, many people in the community call on Nora to offer their condolences, but Nora wishes that she could be left alone. Now, her two youngest children, Donal and Conor, argue about who will answer the door to the latest arrival, May Lacey. Nora forces herself to be polite as she feigns “interest and surprise” (2) at the woman’s mundane social updates.

In addition to Donal and Conor, Nora has two daughters. Her eldest daughter, Fiona, is finishing her teacher training in Dublin, while her other daughter, Aine, is studying at a school in Bunclody. Nora pretends that she has no plans to sell the family’s holiday cottage in Cush, even though she hopes to sell it to May’s son, Jack Lacey, in order to obtain some desperately needed funds.

As Nora leaves Donal and Conor at home and drives to the holiday cottage in Cush, she hopes that the family is slowly returning to normal. The children are learning “to disguise how they [feel]” (5) in the wake of their father’s death, and Nora pays close attention to any signs that something is not right.