(Continued from "A Place of Safety-Derry)

1973, Houston

Seriously injured by a horrific bombing, Brendan is caught in an Akinetic Catatonia, where he is barely aware of what is going on around him. The Provisional IRA wants him dead because they think he tried to warn the targets of the bombing. The British Army believes he helped set the bomb and wants to interrogate him.

But a scribbled note he left for his mother, the UK passport he had just received, a job offer on a ship in Cobh, and the train ticket he had purchased, one-way to Dublin, all suggest he'd left town prior to the explosion. So that is the story all parties settle on.

In truth, while his wounds were being tended to, it was discovered he was born with a heart condition that needs attention. So he was snuck into the US using the name Brennan McGabbhinn, a distant cousin who died as a child, under a medical visa. Kept hidden in an attic room in Houston, Texas, Brendan slowly mended out of sight of everyone except his Aunt Mari, Uncle Sean, and cousins -- Scott, Brandi, and Bernadette.

But while Brendan's body may be healing, his mind is still torn by horrific memories of that day; the understanding that Joanna, the girl he loved more than anything, is dead; that his family's still caught in the brutality of The Troubles; and that he is not allowed to contact them.

In an attempt to regain his center he starts to repair items for the neighborhood help – irons, toasters, lawn mowers and the like. He also develops tentative friendships with Everett, a graphic artist, and Jeremy, a high school friend of Scott's. And while he is not fond of the extreme heat and humidity of a Houston summer; he begins to believe he has found a place of safety in a city of wealth and promise.

But soon he comes to realize that appearances can be deceiving...and promises are not always kept.

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