Nancy Sheridan lives above her chip shop with her three children, Laura, Gerard, and Miriam, who is soon to be married. She runs the shop, converted from a market after the death of husband George, though the shop’s crowds and odors are unpopular with many of her neighbors. Late one night, a drunk couple walks up to the window and demands to be let in. She refuses and goes upstairs, only to be hounded by them even more. She calls Jim Farrell, at his bar nearby, and he comes to convince the couple to leave. Jim and Nancy are in the midst of a near year-long secret relationship, with Nancy often sneaking over to his home above his bar in the night. One night, Jim suggested they marry, and Nancy remembered how 20 years prior Jim had loved her best friend Eilis, who broke his heart by leaving to return to America. She is happy with Jim, but her own daughter’s upcoming marriage forces them to wait before announcing their plans.

Ideally, Nancy wants them to step away from their businesses and move out of town to a more peaceful place, though she does not share these sentiments with Jim.