The Coyle's run a family shop out of their kitchen, where friends and relatives congregate and dissipate day in, day out. The River Callan dominates the landscape in a deluge which makes mill-workers retreat into the upper levels of their homes, in a way evoking the way of life of a community tied to the land and working in tandem with the seasons. Uncle Pachy is the light-hearted presence lending wit, warmth and tales of travel whenever he comes by with the pony and cart. Each character has his own story to tell, and their own vital role to play in this community in which nothing is certain except the continuity of their unshakeable bond.