Time of the Child

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and death.

The novel opens in the fictional town of Faha, Ireland. Located on the coast, Faha is a rural village with a few local businesses. The villagers are used to nothing of consequence happening there. On the first day of Advent in 1962, the Faha doctor, Jack Troy, attends Mass with his local congregation. The village outside is empty and quiet, as it often is. Jack sits in his pew with his eldest daughter, Ronnie Troy. Since Jack’s wife, Regina, died from cancer, he hasn’t been invested in his faith. However, he continues to attend church. The rest of the week, he tends to his patients. Nearly 60 years old, Jack feels tired from his work at Avalon House, where he sometimes conducts visits with his patients. He attended the Royal College but learned much of his trade from his father, who was also a doctor.

As the Mass starts, Jack thinks about Annie Mooney, an amateur chemist he fell in love with before her death four years prior. He still isn’t sure what Annie felt for him but has lingering feelings for her.