Frankie grows up in Limerick as an intelligent boy, if always hungry. He makes unique observations about those around him. His strict Catholic upbringing in the local public school preys on him; will he be going to hell, this plagues his mind as soon as he has been taught to make confession at age 7. He sees his father as three people; the man who rises early in the morning and talks with Frank; the man who tells stories to his sons in the evening; and the man who drinks too much, sings old songs and asks his young sons promise to die for Ireland.