The novel, The Glass Lake, is set in the small, mythical Irish town of Lough Glass in 1952, a time when both the town and the people in it are poised on the verge of social change. The story continues through the end of the decade and traces the rapid growth and change of the entire town. However, the plot focuses most tightly on the personal growth and change of Helen McMahon and her daughter Kit.

As the story opens, Kit McMahon is twelve and just beginning to view her parents and other adults with a critical eye. She is sensitive when her friend Clio Kelly (the daughter of the local doctor) asks why Kit's parents sleep in separate rooms and why her mother prefers solitary walks along the lake shore to the luncheons and social outings that occupy Mrs. Kelly. Kit is also becoming aware that...