Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the novel’s treatment of wartime violence, homicide, and alcohol addiction.

Cushla Lavery is the novel’s caring, lonely, and witty protagonist. At the beginning of the novel, she is 24 years old and has “long dark hair and big eyes” (7). Cushla works at a Catholic school teaching seven- and eight-year-old children. On top of her full-time job, she also serves as the caretaker for her mother, who has an alcohol addiction and depression. One of the most significant ways that Cushla demonstrates her capacity to care for others is by looking after Davy McGeown, a student facing poverty and religious discrimination. She ensures that Davy has transportation to and from school and pays for his lunches.

As much as she cares for others, Cushla often feels overlooked and unappreciated, especially by her mother and brother. Her loneliness is compounded by her grief over her late father. This loneliness is part of why she’s drawn to Michael and the attention and affection he offers. Another of Cushla’s prominent traits is her ready wit. She uses sharp-tongued retorts to contend with the overbold regulars at her family’s pubs and to defend herself from anti-Catholic

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