Tadhg puts a knife to Teddy's face and forces him to leave the house, saving Joey.

Johnny calls emergency services and demands they go to Shannon's address after Gibsie confirms the abuse.

Shannon wakes in the hospital to find her estranged older brother Darren sitting at her bedside.

Joey calls Johnny to say Shannon is in the hospital, and Johnny's father drives him there.

Shannon darts past Darren and runs to Johnny when he and Gibsie arrive at her front door.

Joey falls out of Shane Holland's car onto the pavement, barely conscious and extremely high.

Shannon and Johnny spend their first night together talking on the couch and sharing their first kiss.

Marie accuses Johnny of statutory rape in the street as Edel confronts her in Shannon's defense.

Shannon learns her father completed rehab and will be free until his scheduled court hearing.

Shannon vomits in the cinema parking lot after spotting her father sitting in a parked car.

Johnny slams his hand on Teddy's car, drags him out, and punches him twice in the face.

Bella pins Shannon to the school bathroom floor, smears food on her clothes, and writes on her face.

Teddy walks calmly back into the Lynch home after Joey leaves, and Shannon locks herself in her room to call Johnny.

Johnny gets Shannon and her brothers safely out of the house while Marie stays behind to distract Teddy.

Mr. Kavanagh tells Johnny the Lynch house burned down with Teddy and Marie inside.

The novel opens with 11-year-old Tadhg forcing his abusive father Teddy from the Lynch home at knifepoint, leaving Shannon near death. From his hospital bed in Dublin, Johnny pieces together the truth about Shannon's abuse and alerts the authorities. As Shannon recovers with Darren's reluctant help, Johnny fights to stay by her side despite resistance from both families. The two grow closer over weeks of stolen time together, even as Teddy's looming release and Bella's bullying create new dangers. When Teddy returns home and traps the family, Johnny rescues Shannon and her brothers before Marie sacrifices herself to distract her husband, resulting in both parents dying in the fire. With their tormentor gone, Shannon and her siblings find a new home with the Kavanaghs, and Johnny chooses to delay his national rugby contract to stay with the people he loves.

The headline events that drive Shannon and Johnny's story from crisis to resolution.

Shannon loses consciousness on the kitchen floor as she hears her father leave and Aoife's voice.

Gibsie calls Claire, who panics and mentions bruises, confirming to Johnny that Teddy is abusing Shannon.

Joey and Darren argue in Shannon's hospital room over whether Marie can raise the children, and Joey storms out.

Johnny sneaks into Shannon's hospital room and the two talk until Marie storms in and throws him out.

Edel comes home to find Shannon with Johnny, softens seeing Shannon's bruising, and makes them both breakfast.

Johnny and Gibsie help a vomiting Joey shower and sober up at Johnny's house before Joey calls Aoife.

Shannon and Johnny share a kiss in the school hallway and agree that they are now boyfriend and girlfriend.

Johnny takes Shannon to the beach for the day and she encourages him to practice rugby without judgment.

Johnny takes Shannon outside to his car and insists she learn to drive around his estate for the first time.

Joey punches Cormac and Aoife punches Bella to the ground in the school parking lot brawl over Shannon.

Bella is expelled from school after Mr. Kavanagh negotiates a stronger punishment with Principal Twomey.

Joey comes home high after being released from jail, fights with Marie, and walks away from the house.

Johnny and Gibsie spend the night talking in the old tree house until the sun rises after the fire.

Aoife arrives at the Kavanagh home and cradles Joey as he breaks down sobbing during his withdrawal.

Shannon watches Johnny score the winning points for Ireland on television at a bar full of cheering fans.

Shannon's near-death experience opens the novel, triggering the chain of events that leads Johnny and Gibsie to confirm the abuse and call for help. In the aftermath, family tensions rise as Joey and Darren clash over Marie's culpability, while Johnny and Shannon begin stealing moments together at his home. Their relationship deepens through quiet days at the beach, driving lessons, and the chaos of a school parking lot brawl before Teddy's return triggers the story's violent climax. After the fire, Shannon's community rallies around her, with Aoife's love pulling Joey out of withdrawal and her closest friends holding her up through her grief. The novel closes with Shannon watching Johnny triumph on the rugby field before returning home to the life and the people he chose to stay for.

The quieter but vital moments that fill out Shannon and Johnny's journey.

Joey gives Marie an ultimatum to choose between her husband and her children as Shannon lies bleeding on the floor.

Johnny demands his parents take him to Shannon's house, but they refuse, saying he has no proof of abuse.

Marie tells Shannon alone in the hospital room that Johnny will turn out to be just like her father.

Shannon tells her mother she will never forgive her if she drives Johnny away from her life.

Joey breaks down sobbing to Johnny in the bathroom, describing how helpless he felt watching Shannon nearly die.

Shannon asks Johnny to kiss her for the first time and the two talk on the couch until after 3 a.m.

Shannon finds the condoms that fell from Johnny's pocket and the two talk honestly about their readiness for sex.

Shannon and Johnny have sex for the first time at his house, interrupted when Edel knocks on the bedroom door.

Darren apologizes to Johnny outside Twomey's office after the parking lot fight, admitting he misjudged him entirely.

Mr. Kavanagh privately tells Johnny that he and Edel are working on legally adopting Shannon and her siblings.

Johnny finds Joey thrashing outside the burning Lynch house and comforts him before taking him back home.

Edel comes outside the Kavanagh home and Joey, refusing all others, collapses sobbing into her arms.

Shannon visits Johnny's room for the first time since the fire and reassures him he saved her brothers' lives.

After the funeral, Gibsie accidentally reveals that Johnny made both the U20 and Senior National rugby teams.

Johnny turns down the two-year national team contract and walks into Tommen on the first day of school.

From Joey's desperate ultimatum to Marie and Johnny's parents refusing to believe Shannon is in danger, the novel opens with a chain of failures that deepen the crisis. Key emotional turning points follow, including Shannon's first kiss with Johnny, Joey's raw confession about watching his sister nearly die, and a frank conversation between Shannon and Johnny about sex and trust. The parking lot fight leads to Darren's long-overdue apology and a secret revelation that the Kavanaghs intend to adopt the Lynch children. After the fire, Johnny carries guilt over Marie's death while Joey finds unexpected comfort in Edel's embrace, and Shannon and Johnny lean on each other through grief. The novel ends with Johnny making both national rugby teams before choosing to turn down the professional contract, trading short-term glory for the people and the youth he nearly missed entirely.