Sean O'Brien left his wife and son in county Tyrone to find work as a collier in the South Wales Valleys. He last posted money and a letter from somewhere called Aberuffern (the mouth of hell). Years later Niamh O'Brien is dying. Her last wish is for Jack, her only son, to discover what became of her father: 'Find him and then I can go to my grave in peace. In brilliantly lyrica prose Mark Ryan employs the black humour and wit of the Welsh and Irish traditions to tell the story of Jack's odyssey from inexperience to manhood. The book is illustrated by a series of woodcuts created by the author.