Caitlin McLaughlin is just like any other teenage girl: during the week, she works at the Rocola shirt factory in Stones Corner, Creggan, where she has become secretary to her boss's dishy nephew, James. At the weekend, she likes music and trips to the city with her best friend, but this is Derry 1972. A simple trip to the shops can lead to life-changing injuries or death, and staying at home can be just as dangerous when the British Troops raid house to house.
Robert Sallis is a private with the Royal Fusiliers recently posted to the city. He's repelled by the way some of his fellow soldiers behave, wary too of civilian feelings running high against the occupying army. Accidentally separated from his patrol in Creggan, he's discovered by Caitlin hiding in her family's garden. He expects the worst, but having seen enough violence too close to home, she doesn't give him away. Instead, she prefers to daydream about her charming boss, who has made his feelings for her plain.
A Catholic girl from the Bogside and the Protestant heir to a big local employer...In her youthful innocence, Caitlin believes their love can overcome the triple obstacles of politics, class and faith. Meanwhile, Robert, newly recruited to British undercover forces, is closing in on a terrorist strike in the heart of the city centre.
