Main Plot: Dean O'Flanagan sets out on a journey that will test everything he has been built being lured by the prospect of his nationalism by Colm Reilly. Shiona Coleman discovers that love, like grass, requires patience and good ground. Desperate not to see Dean throw his life away for the cause. Dean decides to test the waters and go with Colm to Caherciveen but on the long road to meet with he IRA recruiters he discovers Colm is not all he seems. His father Rory suspects his son is unsettled and later travels to Caherciveen to save him from an awful mistake. Shamus is accepted into University in Dublin at an early age ? his mother Rosey is not so sure. An aunt (Rosey's sister) in Dublin is willing to take him in while he studies. Rory worries that all his hard work and grass will be squandered if Dean and Shamus have different paths than his own vision.

Sub Plot: Sargent Connelly suspects the pub as being a meeting place for subversion and a trade in illegal goods. He is determined to investigate Jonas and Mary Clarke, but finds more than he bargained for when he discovers Eugene Coleman having an affair with Mary. Emily sees Eugene and Mary in a compromising state and blackmails them with a threat to tell Father Murphy unless she get well paid. However, Connelly's investigation takes a new turn when Emily is found murdered in the church yard. Shiona and Sally follow Dean to Caherciveen to get him to come home unknowing that his father is already made the same decision.