Aisha, a young Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland, is floundering in a maze of social services and bureaucracy. As her situation becomes increasingly dire, Aisha struggles to maintain hope and dignity against the looming threat of deportation.

Quirke is the chief pathologist in the Dublin city morgue – a charismatic loner whose job takes him into fascinating places as he investigates sudden deaths in 1950s Dublin. His pleasures in life are raw and deep, a drink, a smoke, good food, a woman: With one woman in particular – his adoptive brother's wife Sarah and the forbidden love that has shaped and dominated Quirke's life.

After being abandoned by her husband after 28 years, an overbearing, self-centered psychologist embarks on a quest to revisit her past loves, accompanied by her 6-year-old grandson, who has Down syndrome, after he turns up unexpectedly in her van.

Agnes MacDonnell, a strong and self-confident Englishwoman, owns a large estate on an island off the west coast of Ireland. When she begins a passionate but dangerous affair with her new estate manager, Agnes wages a desperate struggle to dominate this charismatic but destructive man.