Emily Radley, Charlotte's sister, is looking forward to Christmas celebrations, and then she receives a note from Thomas Pitt.
He tells her that Susannah, her aunt, who fell out with the family when she married a Catholic Irish man, is dying, and she doesn't want to leave this world alone. Charlotte is sick with bronchitis, so Thomas asks Emily to travel to Ireland to be with her aunt. Emily's first reaction is to refuse, but then Jack, her husband, makes her see that if she doesn't go, she will regret it.
Emily travels to Ireland, and Father Tyndale is waiting for her. He drives her to the village, which is hours from Galway. Susannah is now widowed, and even though she is well regarded in the village and has friends, it is logical for her to want her family close. Nobody has kept in touch with Susannah since she left England. Emily's father died but nobody contacted her.
When they reach the house, Susannah welcomes Emily. She looks haggard and pale, but she is not bedridden. Susannah is aware that Emily has come to see her under duress. The landscape is beautiful, but Susannah tells her that there may be a storm, which could be terrible for them. Susannah has a housekeeper, >Maggie O'Bannion, who is friendly to Emily, but she also talks about the stormy weather.
Once when Emily goes to the post office to post some letters, she runs into a man, Padraic Yorke, and he tells her about the village's history. He says that the Flaherties slaughtered the Conneeleys, but Una Conneeley managed to survive. She married a Flaherty and had a child. This finished the feuds, but people still have long memories.
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