It’s the early 50s. The Darcy family have made a home for themselves in Surrey Hills, NSW. The elder daughter, Rosie, is pregnant with her second child to her husband Charlie and Rosie’s sister, Dolour, finds comfort in doting over her niece Moira. Father Hughie and Mumma live downstairs, as irrepressible as ever.

Continuing the history of the Irish Darcys begun in Missus and continued in The Harp in the South, this third instalment of a trilogy, reacquaints readers with the vicissitudes of slum life in a Sydney suburb. An unforgettable family and a cast of unforgettable characters enliven a story that is sometimes tragic but often humourous in a time of poverty and destitution, hope and promise.