Six stories – one set in Dublin, the others in the countryside – about children who get caught up in the War of Independence and suffer dire consequences. Mattie Foley dreams of escaping the harshness of life in the Dublin slums, but her dreams and reality become dangerously entwined with the discovery of a gun. When Statia Mulligan sets off to get feed for the hens, she longs for the peace and quiet of her favourite spot by the stream; she doesn't expect to become part of an ambush. Larry Quinn goes after the cow that has strayed – how could he know that in his absence the Black and Tans would force his mother to reveal all she knows?

A sequel to The Guns of Easter, which won the Eilís Dillon Memorial Award and a Bisto Merit Award. This books tells the exciting story of Sarah (Jimmy's young sister) and their family who are involved in the spying activities of Michael Collins during the War of Independence. Sarah, a young eleven-year-old, cannot figure out why her family is so neutral towards the war and why everybody is so secretive. A strong rebel herself, she wants to do her bit for Ireland. Then she finds out the terrible truth - and she too carries secrets which could cost her her life.

A boy wakes up in bed in a room built of stone. He knows his name is Stephen, but he can remember nothing else about himself. He discovers that he's in a remote monastery being looked after by a group of monks. Beyond the monastery walls, all traces of human life have simply disappeared. Villages deserted, doors left open, with taps left running, but no people. And with all means of communication down, he has no way of knowing if the rest of the world has disappeared too. Then the visitors arrive, strange men with unnatural powers, and when he discovers who they really are it turns his whole world inside out and changes everything he ever believed. Out of Nowhere was shortlisted for the Reading Association of Ireland Award 2001.

It is 1916 and Europe is at war. From the poverty of the Dublin slums twelve-year-old Jimmy Conway sees it all as glorious, and loves the British Army for which his father is fighting. But when war comes to his own streets Jimmy's loyalties are divided. The rebels occupy the General Post Office and other parts of the city, and Jimmy's uncle is among them. Dublin's streets are destroyed, business comes to a halt. In an attempt to find food for his family, Jimmy crosses the city, avoiding the shooting, weaving through the army patrols, hoping to make it home before curfew. But his quest is not easy and danger threatens at every corner.