John Keane has been left haunted by his experiences of action durning World War II, but when he meets Mary he settles down to bring up a large traditional Irish Catholic family in Long island. As they struggle to uphold the family's framework, their four children must experience the challenges and liberties born in the crucible of the 1960s. Michael and Annie taste the fruits of the sexual revolution; jacob finds himself on the way to Vietnam; and Clara, the youngest, seeks to maintain an almost saintly innocence. With McDermott's inimitable grace, After This capures the joy, sorrow, anger and love that underpin, and undermine, what it is to be a family.