Marianne McShane is een voormalig kinderbibliothecaresse en een seanchaí, een traditionele Ierse verhalenvertelster. Ze groeide op aan de oostkust van Ierland en heeft een bijzondere liefde voor het delen van de volksverhalen en sprookjes van haar geboorteland. Haar werk is diep geworteld in de rijke orale tradities van Ierland en blaast oude verhalen nieuw leven in voor een hedendaags publiek. McShanes band met haar geboorteland is voelbaar in haar evocatieve vertelstijl.
Eily and her father live in Ireland, three fields from the sea, within sight of the enchanted isle of Lisnashee. The fairy folk who live there cause mischief and harm to any who trespass, but once a year at Midsummer, Eily's father, the Fog Catcher, rows out to collect magic from the fog around the island. His sole protection is a charm tucked in his pocket, and when Eily finds the lost charm in a hedgerow after he departs, she knows at once what she must do.
Long ago, on the eastern coast of Ireland, a monk from the Abbey of Bangor was collecting driftwood along the shore when he found a boy washed up amid a circle of seals. At first the boy could barely move or speak. But when he regained his strength, he recalled being brought ashore by a lady with long golden hair who sang him to safety and gave him a silver ring. The monks knew the legend of a mermaid who had wandered the coast for three hundred years. Could it possibly have been her?