An Catholic man leaves his faith behind in the Catholic church 1950's Ireland, finding a new path in the Jehovah Witness's causing uproar within his family and community. With the encouragement of a local priest, his wife takes him to the high court for custody of their five children. But at what cost...

SYNOPSIS:

Sean O' Sullivan, a 20 year old inner city Dublin lad has one goal. To educate himself and get the hell out of the slums. But its 1939 Ireland, and like many poor young men, he's no real prospects in life. So, with a purchase of a new dictionary and a chance meeting with the girl of his dreams Maeve McCarthy in his cycling club, he invites her to a local dance to seal the deal. Only a dark cloud looms when his father sells his bicycle for a lousy few pints. Now missing the dance with Maeve, outraged he confront his drunk father in the local pub. They fist fight on front of local punters but nothing gets solved. Only more dread of what's to come. That night Sean's mother Siobhan offers him a way out, with secret cash, to jump the ferry to London for a job with the American Army as a labourer. This is his only chance for a way out, so he takes it. Then finds himself in the middle of the Blitz....

Sean's journey begins renting a small room in London, writing letters back home to his family and Maeve. He makes new acquaintance's. The first, Rita, an Irish waitress from Dublin with big dreams of stardom on Broadway. Then Emmett, a buddy novelist who's book shop has been destroyed by a German blast. Their friendship blooms and Sean offers Emmett help to restore his shop in exchange to read one book a week with no charge. Emmett agrees.

Then one faithful night while watching Rita perform, air strikes hit the area. All three retreat to Bethnal Green tube station as large crowds gather for safety. But Sean realises he's left his weeks wages inside his new book at the club and insists he must return. Rita and Emmett arrange to meet him inside the station, but when Sean returns, chaos has already broken out, as everybody who entered the station is now dead from a massive suffocation pile up. This is Sean's first major loss in life which makes him question everything, especially his faith. His second blow is right around the corner...

As WW2 comes to an end in 1945, Sean gets a notice from his mother back in Dublin that his two younger sisters Catherine 17 and Marie 14 are dying with tuberculosis. Upon arriving home, he's greeted with the tragic loss of both girls and the harsh truth that no wishing or praying can ever bring them back.

This is where Sean's path is altered. After randomly meeting Maeve under the famous Clery's clock on O'connell street, they rekindle their love and marry soon after. With an army of kids soon after, a very unusual knock at the door comes from two Jehovah Witness's Dan & Polly. As Maeve refuses to interact, Sean's interest peek and he begins his new journey attending secret meetings. He reveals to Dick Foster, head of the congregation, that he's lost all hope. That the guilt and pain he feels over his sisters death is unimaginable. This conversation sets Sean on a new quest to rebuild his faith in Jehovah and restore his faith with the possibility of seeing his two sisters again in the resurrection.

As maeve discovers her husbands involvement and with the spread of gossip around the community she has no choice but to seek help from her local priest Father Delaney. And this man will do anything to stop Sean O'Sullivan form bringing a pagan religion into his church. With a little push, Maeve is encouraged to bring Sean to court and gain custody over their six children. Through a rigorous battle she wins defeat but loses part of herself. As the years go on and the children become grown, they learn to live under the same roof despite their religious differences. Its not long after this point where Sean becomes sick. And with six weeks to live, plans his own funeral, manages to say goodbye to all his friends and decides to accept his fate and stand tall in his beliefs despite his death sentence. The night he dies Maeve grants him his life long wish and brings some Opera music into the hospital ward. This gives Sean the opportunity to imagine seeing his sisters faces again as he slip away peacefully in his own kingdom.

Maeve confronts Father Delaney at Sean's burial questioning what it was all for. The fighting, the anger, the loss, he's gone now and somehow she has to find resolution in knowing what she had put him through. One things for sure, she loved him and he loved her and despite the public divide or what side they were both on, they managed to stay together. At the end of the day, Catholic, Christians, Jehovah's, are all the same, all just trying to survive.

BOTH SIDES