An Irish Country Novel. Long before Dr. Fingal Flahertie OReilly came to the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo, young Surgeon-lieutenant OReilly answered the call of duty to serve in World War II. As a ships doctor on the HMS Warspite, Fingal faces danger upon the high seas. With German bombers a constant threat, the future has never been more uncertain. Decades later, OReilly is content to mend the bodies and souls of his patients, but there are still changes and challenges a plenty. A difficult pregnancy, as well as an old colleague badly in denial, tests OReilly and his young partner, Barry Laverty. But even with all that