One of Ireland's most beloved novelists--with more than 1.5 million copies of her books in print--now published in Canada for the first time July, 1976. One morning Robert Riordan tells his wife, Gretta, that he is going around the corner to buy a newspaper. He doesn't return. Drawn back home to London to help solve the mystery, Gretta's grown-up children fit awkwardly into their childhood roles, and tensions run high. Each is at a turning point in his or her life. The eldest, Michael Francis, is increasingly estranged from his wife by parenthood and his guilt over a brief affair. Monica's performance as a perfect stepmother is convincing no one; and Aoife, the black sheep of the family, is finding that even in New York she can't hide from the secret that has set her apart since childhood. A journey back to Connemara, Ireland, brings surprises, insights and revelations, as each of them confronts the knotty tangle of family life and love. Elegant and compelling, Instructions for a Heatwave secures Maggie O'Farrell's position as one of the best of the new generation of Irish writers.