'The Visit is an engrossing and tender portrait of a small town under pressure ... Stark and elemental - at the heart of the novel is a sort of quiet yearning and a longing for love and for completion that makes Neil Tully's novel so brilliant and intriguing' - Colm Tóibín

"The lad is a bit like a stray dog. I keep an eye on him and throw him a few scraps. There are plenty of people in this town who'd just as soon drop him off in the wilderness and hope there's no scent to follow home. The problem is that Patrick could find his way out of any wilderness and they wouldn't like whatever starved thing came back."

Sergeant Jim Field feels a guilty paternalism for Patrick Hatten, a young man struggling to find a job, a life and a purpose in a small-town Wexford community. Both are used to being on the fringes but while Jim is a romantic with bad health and regret, Patrick is full of anger and action, and his actions could have devastating effects.