It’s 1970s Ireland. Jack O’Connell saves the life of an American sailor, Troy, who repays him by unwittingly stealing the love of his life, Kate O’Rourke, from him. Jack is determined not to lose Kate and, spurred on by jealousy and circumstance, wins his girl back. Now a doctor in Dublin, his life is perfect – with a young son and another child on the way – when it all falls apart as Kate commits suicide. In the fall out, he loses custody of his son, Cathal, to his embittered sister-in-law, but many questions remain unanswered. Twenty years later, Cathal has gone missing in the US and Jack is drawn back – secrets and all – into the family that ostracised him after Kate’s death.

Peopled by multiple suitors and women enamoured of men in uniforms, Heritage of Secrets has echoes of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd in more than just the name of the American sailor, Troy.

With a keen eye for drama, Aoife Mannix navigates the peaks and troughs of intertwining lives in this exploration of a society in flux. As Heritage of Secrets reaches its climax, actions taken during the days of The Troubles yield startling consequences at a time when marijuana has begun to filter into the bathrooms of convent schools in Ireland and issues of sexuality come to the fore as a new generation shakes off the shackles of convention and small town claustrophobia.

"The epic scale of Heritage of Secrets is compelling. This is a novel that embraces love, loss and destiny with compassion and clarity." – Nick Drake, author of Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead

"Aoife Mannix has a poet's way with words, and a natural gift for storytelling. Heritage of Secrets is a hugely satisfying read." – Paul Burston, author of The Gay Divorcee