When the Sun Bursts

By John Maher

Ireland, 1916. The Irish nationalists are preparing to fight for their freedom from the British. Lydia Fitzgerald, a Protestant land-owner, will play a crucial role in the war – and all for her German lover. Lydia betrays her family and their place in the establishment when she begins to work in secret for the Irish rebels. She helps to entangle them with the Germans. Sadie McDonald, her one-time serving girl, is searching for the son she gave up under dark circumstances. Her quest to get him back will lead her down a dangerous path as the city teeters on the brink of implosion. When the Germans descend on the city with their Zeppelins, wreaking havoc among the fighting citizens and soldiers, the two women are thrown into the chaos of a war that Lydia helped to make. They must survive the bloody conflict between soldiers, rebels and the threat from above in order to reunite with their loved ones. As the uprising takes hold of the city, the lives and histories of the two women begin to intersect with far-reaching consequences.