Pamela, who has come to Ireland in search of a memory and a man who may not have existed in the first place. They come from disparate backgrounds-Jamie a wealthy aristocrat whose life is like an imperfect but multi-faceted jewel-brilliant, flawed and with a glitter that is designed to distract the observer.Ĭasey, a card-carrying member of the Irish Republican Army, who must face the fact that five years away has left him a stranger, a misfit in his own neighborhood where not everyone is sympathetic to a convicted rebel. It is the spring of 1968 in Belfast and James Kirkpatrick has just lost his father under suspicious circumstances, Casey Riordan is released from prison after five years and Pamela O'Flaherty has crossed an ocean and a lifetime of memories to find the man she fell in love with as a little girl.Īll three lives are on a collision course with each other against the backdrop of the burgeoning civil rights movement and a nation on the brink of revolution. After that night, life as they know it spirals out of control for the Riordans, until one man is forced to rejoin a world he thought he’d left behind forever, to ensure the safety of those he loves.In this sweeping and powerful epic the journey begins in the 'terrible beauty' of Northern Ireland during a time when conflict reigns and no one is spared from tragedy and sorrow, the time known as The Troubles. The road is not smooth and contains hard lessons, both those of betrayal and treachery, all stemming from the events of one warm July night, when the match of hatred is set to the fuel of violence. Their father, Brian, is simply trying to keep his sons safe-a tall order in the gritty streets of this particular city.īare Knuckle spans the events of one summer, giving a glimpse into the lives of the Riordans-the boys as they embark on the path to the men they are destined to be, and their father as he guides them along the way. Tagging along on this adventure is his brother, Pat, who is both shadow and conscience to Casey.

Casey Riordan is on the cusp on manhood and is learning just how high the price of that transition can be. So, begins this prequel to the Exit Unicorns series, as we join the Riordan boys in the rough and tumble world of Belfast, Northern Ireland, during a summer of change and promise. And yet, here Brian Riordan was doing exactly that.

When a man was reduced to asking advice of a tomcat, it didn’t bode well for the state of his affairs.

Bare Knuckle by Cindy Brandner