After the closure of his beloved bookshop due to bankruptcy, Thomas leaves his home in Switzerland and seeks distraction in Ireland, in Dublin, where his sister lives. Travelling to the west of the island, he not only finds a challenging job, but also the love of his life—and discovers a very special talent. The young Swiss inadvertently witnesses the family drama on a farmstead in 12th century Ireland, shaken by the invasion from neighbouring England. Torn between his everyday life in Limerick and the intrigues in the karst region of the Burren, he finally has to make a decision—in favour of a life in the here and now with his attractive companion or a time long past over which he has no influence.
The novel tells how Thomas not only finds an exciting and challenging life in the far west of Europe, but also the love of his life and fulfilment in his profession. And at the same time the reader finds himself following the events on a remote farm in early medieval Ireland, whose inhabitants not only have to face the intrigues of their rival neighbours, but also the upheaval caused by the invasion of neighbouring England.

Alexander F. Stahel ist in einem Bergdorf in den Glarner Alpen aufgewachsen. Nach Lehr- und Wanderjahren auch im europäischen Ausland arbeitete er während mehrerer Jahre im Verlagswesen, bevor er sich ganz dem Gastgewerbe widmete. Er ist verheiratet und glücklicher Vater von drei erwachsenen Töchtern. Der Westen Irlands ist seine zweite Heimat, wo er die notwendige Inspiration und Ruhe findet, um seine Geschichten zu Papier zu bringen.