Claire has lived in several different European countries due to her husband’s job in banking. She has been the all American mother raising her daughter Miriam. Now living in Dublin, and nearing forty, her life is slowly passing her by. She is not sure who she is or what she wants out of life as she traces her past and her Irish roots.

Brigit lives in New Mexico, working as a nurse and midwife. She fled her past and Ireland to get away from her mother and her father who are in prison. Now, fifteen years later, she is back in Ireland reliving the past so she can get on with her future.

Padmaj owns a Indian restaurant and faces his own problems. He has a past that he would just as soon leave behind him and not bring to light. When the three meet at the restaurant, a deep bond emerges and together they face their pasts. The history, the poverty their ancestors lived through, the deep seeded love the families held onto to survive. Together these three will survive, their future will look brighter, and their past will no longer have a stronghold over them.

This is a very compelling and deeply moving novel. As the reader learns about the three leafs of the Shamrock, and the Lotus flower, the reader will understand the undertone of “Shamrock and Lotus.”