Every Friday night young Tom Fitzgerald's lilac-colored minibus leaves Dublin for the small Irish town of Rathdoon with seven weekend commuters on board. Since all are Rathdoon natives, they know something of each other: Judy Hickey's loss of her two children to her husband's custody; Dee Burke's privileged position as daughter of Rathdoon's doctor; Mikey Burn's simple life as a Dublin bank porter, in sharp contrast to his brother's affluence. But deeper truths lie behind this common knowledge and they unwind a skein at a time in eight remarkable interconnected stories that reveal the private worlds of the riders of the lilac bus as they face personal tragedy, family secrets, and life-affirming decisions. In "Dublin 4," a further collection, we enter the world behind the lace curtains of a fashionable Dublin neighborhood. Here, four distinct domestic dramas are played out with Binchy's keen insight into the twists and turns of human behavior. In "Dinner in Donnybrook," what is Carmel, the unassuming housewife, planning when she invites her husband's mistress to dinner? "Flat in Ringsend" shows what happens when Jo, a country girl, moves to Dublin and meets the unexpected at her "perfect" new flat. "Decision in Belfield" introduces us to Pat-Catholic, unmarried...and pregnant. Last, an alcoholic photographer tries to repair his shattered career and family life in the poignant "Murmurs in Montrose."
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