Cornelius Michael Sullivan, the disaffected son of an IRA terrorist, lives a quiet family life in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he is a Professor of History. His latest book project, about Irish Americans, causes him to travel to New York City, where he intends to interview recent Irish immigrants. On his first night, he stops at a Manhattan Tavern, where he becomes engaged in a conversation with a stranger, who claims to be a lawyer, also disaffected, but with his career. The lawyer regales him with stories about his life as a lawyer. Fascinated, though puzzled, Cornelius listens intently and then returns night after night for more conversation. As the evenings progress, Cornelius finds himself increasingly trapped in a world of betrayal, intrigue, violence. and mystery, where everything seems to relate to his own life, ultimately challenging his deepest held beliefs about what is just and his own life, which he had thought he understood so well.