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In New Ross, Ireland in 1985, Bill Furlong, referred to as “Furlong” in the story, runs a coal and fuel business. With the cold temperatures and snowy forecast, his business is in high demand in the week leading up to Christmas. His work is laborious, involving days of managing materials and making deliveries. On Fridays, Furlong and his crew eat hot dinners at Kehoe’s to unwind. 

Furlong grew up an only child, raised by his unmarried mother, Sarah, who had him at sixteen. They lived with Mrs. Wilson, a wealthy Protestant widow who took Sarah in and helped raise Furlong, teaching him to read and instilling strong Protestant morals. Ned, Mrs. Wilson’s farmhand, also worked and lived on the property. Sarah died when Furlong was twelve. Furlong never knew his father and often wonders about his identity.  

Furlong and his wife, Eileen, have five daughters: Kathleen, Joan, Sheila, Grace, and Loretta. The girls are involved in school and religious activities. Furlong is proud of them but constantly worries about their futures, the poverty in the community, and his life's purpose. Eileen often dismisses his worries and encourages him to stop overthinking. 

At the town’s Christmas lighting ceremony, Furlong reflects on his childhood Christmases. Back home, he and Eileen discuss presents for each other and the girls; Furlong wants books or a dictionary. His thoughts remain restless throughout the night. 

The local convent*, run by the Good Shepherd nuns, overlooks the town at the top of the hill. Rumors circulate about the mistreatment of the girls who live there, who are considered to be troubled and unholy. Furlong dismisses these rumors. When out on a delivery at the convent, he witnesses shoeless girls scrubbing floors with botched haircuts. One desperate girl begs for help, saying she wants to escape and drown herself. Furlong says he can’t help her and leaves, disturbed by what he’s seen. 

At home, he tells Eileen about what he witnessed, and she insists it's not their problem and they should focus on their daughters. Furlong challenges her, asking how she'd feel if their daughters were in that situation. Eileen argues that their daughters would never end up in that place, and tells him that he should stay grounded in reality. 

Days before Christmas, Furlong makes early morning deliveries. At the convent, he discovers a young girl shivering in the coal shed. He gives her his jacket and tries to help, but the nuns act indifferent. The Mother Superior invites Furlong and the girl in, offering tea and making small talk. Mother Superior coerces the girl into admitting it was just a game of hide-and-seek with the other girls, and it was all meaningless. She then hands Furlong a Christmas card with money inside. Before being escorted out of the convent, Furlong finds out the girl’s name is Sarah, the same name as his mother, and he offers her help if she ever needs it. 

Furlong misses the first Mass but attends the next one with his family. At home, he tells Eileen he plans to visit Ned. During his visit, a woman informs him that Ned was recently hospitalized with pneumonia and is now recovering in a nursing home. She assumes Furlong is related to Ned given their resemblance, leaving Furlong to wonder if Ned might be his father. 

On Christmas Eve, Furlong heads into work for half the day. He and his crew have a Christmas celebration meal at Kehoe’s. Mrs. Kehoe tells Furlong to stay quiet about the convent, reminding him of the nuns' influence on the community. He thanks her and leaves to run errands. 

While running errands, Furlong looks into shop windows and hears Christmas music playing throughout the town speakers. At the toy shop, he asks Mrs. Stafford for a 500-piece farm jigsaw puzzle like the one he wanted as a child. She says they only sell simpler puzzles. He buys a bag of Lemon’s jellies and leaves. 

Afterwards, he goes to the barber to get a haircut. He thinks about Ned and wonders again if he might be his father. He continues to look in the mirror, trying to see the resemblance. After his haircut, he goes to Hanrahan’s to pick up the patent shoes he bought for Eileen’s Christmas present. As he crosses the bridge, he remembers a local myth about the river taking three lives each year, which his mother used to say had some truth to it. He walks towards the hill and passes festive homes. He observes people in their windows as he heads towards the convent. 

Opening the coal shed, Furlong once again finds Sarah, weak and shivering, and he helps her escape. On their walk back to Furlong’s house, he considers taking Sarah to the priest but decides against it. He believes they are likely complicit in the convent’s abuse. People pass him and Sarah on the street. Some approach him with curiosity about where she came from, while others offer polite holiday greetings with confused glances. No one speaks directly to Sarah. Furlong feels no need to explain who she is or where she came from. 

At the town center, Sarah vomits. They take a break at the Nativity scene. Sarah gently brushes the snow off the donkey's ear. As they continue walking, Sarah leans on him for support. Furlong feels both fear and fulfillment, knowing he’s done the right thing despite the consequences ahead. He reflects on the idea that, without Mrs. Wilson, his mother might’ve ended up in a convent like Sarah. He believes the hardest part is over and that they will be okay. 

*Though not explicitly stated in the story, the convent is actually a Magdalene laundry, a church-run institution where women and girls were sent if they got pregnant outside of marriage or were considered to have gone against social or moral norms. Magdalene laundries are now infamous for the abuse and cruelty they inflicted on the women forced to reside there, but until the 1990s, the Church, the government, and much of the public refused to acknowledge the horrifying truth about what occurred there.  

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