Christmas 1954. Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate Sunny Point. Her adopted son Jack Argyll is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence.

A group of young men and women in Dublin in 1916 are embroiled in a fight for independence during the Easter Rising.The story begins with the outbreak of World War I. As expectations of a short and glorious campaign are dashed, social stability is eroded and Irish nationalism comes to the fore. The tumultuous events that follow are seen through the eyes of a group of friends from Dublin, Belfast and London as they play vital and conflicting roles in the narrative of Ireland's independence.

In turn-of-the-21st-century Moscow, an innocent trade plunges Swedish investment banker, Tom Blixen, into a battle with millionaires, politicians, oligarchs and their private armies.