During the 1960s and at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the author and her family were the only black family living amongst what she refers to as the 'Irish Mafia'. The 'Mafia' members included people belonging to both the Protestant and Catholic paramilitary factions. This story shares some humorous moments and harsh realities in a gritty account of impoverished life in Ulster through the eyes of a black child, exposed to the daily struggles associated with the civil war.