It's 1982 when readers encounter Róisín McCaffrey in STATIONS (she was introduced in Louise Kennedy’s short story collection, THE END OF THE WORLD IS A CUL DE SAC). She’s in high school, having recently moved to Ireland from Northern Ireland. After struggling with depression and growing alcoholism, Róisín’s father --- formerly of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Northern Ireland’s primary police force and a top target of the Irish Republican Army during the Troubles) --- has abandoned her and her mother. Like many other Irish people of the time, he moved to London to pursue greater opportunities.

Róisín feels exceedingly lonely at her new school. Friendless and targeted by bullies, she tries to ingratiate herself by delivering notes on behalf of her primary tormenter, Tina Doyle, to Tina’s quasi-boyfriend, Red Camelin. To Róisín’s surprise, she and Red --- a popular, wealthy boy --- strike up a friendship, which only grows after Tina ends their romantic relationship.

"Róisín’s journey toward self-acceptance, as well as her attempts to preserve a transformative friendship, will resonate with readers across time and geography."

Over the next several months, Róisín and Red become closer --- though always falling just short of the romantic connection Róisín craves --- even as it becomes increasingly clear that Red is hiding some kind of secret at home. Despite growing up in a gorgeous house with two prosperous parents and two younger brothers, Red is reluctant to return home, instead spending more time sleeping over at Róisín’s and other friends’ houses and maintaining an angry distance from his family. At the end of the novel’s first section, Red has been paid off by his father to leave the town and never come back. So, like Róisín’s father, Red decamps to London, leaving Róisín bereft.

In the second part, Róisín, having started college in Dublin, heads to London at Christmas to try to reconcile with her estranged father. Much to her surprise, not only has he moved in with his girlfriend, they also have a brand-new baby. When Róisín considers returning to Ireland ahead of schedule, she discovers that her mother has gotten engaged and will be pursuing an annulment. Feeling unwanted and distant from her biological family, Róisín seeks out her next best option --- finding Red. She discovers him staying in “the last squat in Pimlico,” an affluent district in central London. 

Róisín takes advantage of the quiet holiday period to move in and reconnect with Red. At first, it feels like rekindling that friendship that was so transformative in high school. Soon, however, she grows increasingly suspicious and wary of Red’s secretive and erratic behavior, and overwhelmingly jealous of his relationship with Octavia, a posh young woman whose family lives in the neighborhood. Over the ensuing months, their friendship becomes both more complicated and more removed, as they grow ever more distant emotionally despite living under the same roof.

The final section jumps forward in time nearly 30 years. In the wake of her own father’s death, Róisín is intent on finding Red, who almost no one has heard from since 1989, when Róisín herself severed their relationship. The quest takes her to meet with Red’s mother, now also a widow after the death of Red’s father, and Róisín learns the extent of the cruelties that plagued Red’s home life during their youth.

STATIONS doesn’t offer pat or easy answers. Instead, it’s a portrait of one young woman struggling to find her own way amid rapidly shifting social and familial circumstances. It also depicts the complex dynamics of the Irish immigrant and expat community in the UK during the 1980s, a time in which these individuals faced significant prejudice as well as economic disadvantages. These factors may be somewhat unfamiliar to American readers in 2026, but they are worthwhile to consider, especially when you think about the ways in which immigrants are still often received with suspicion or hostility. 

And, of course, Róisín’s journey toward self-acceptance, as well as her attempts to preserve a transformative friendship, will resonate with readers across time and geography.