Centered on the Irish Troubles, this novel is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is a story of inaction with enormous consequences.

In 1970s Northern Ireland, middle sister stands out for the wrong reasons. She reads while walking, for one. And she has been taking French night classes downtown. So when a local paramilitary known as the milkman begins pursuing her, she suddenly becomes "interesting," the last thing she ever wanted to be. Despite middle sister's attempts to avoid him -- and to keep her mother from finding out about her maybe-boyfriend -- rumors spread and the threat of violence lingers. Milkman is a story of the way inaction can have enormous repercussions, in a time when the wrong flag, wrong religion, or even a sunset can be subversive.

In the early, early morning, the milkman makes his rounds, helping his neighbors in a variety of ways.