Her home town of Belfast Northern Ireland was occupied by the British Army at the time of the troubles,troubles Margot Giligan was well aware of as the day arrived for her to leave the confines of her local all girls Catholic school on the outskirts of her beloved Belfast,she had up until that day been under the watchful eyes of the nuns that ran the school and leaving was somewhat daunting!.
It so happened that a kindly lady called Mary Mcginty a local hat shop owner was looking for someone to help run her shop and although it was to be only fifty pounds per week Margot was overjoyed at the prospect of not only working for her but being able to contribute towards her keep at home since her father who worked for the local distillery (of all places) was on short time and spent most of his days getting drunk and abusing her mother.
This is the story of a love that blossoms through all adversity when Margot meets and falls in love with a married British army officer,only to be left alone and pregnant when he gets killed by a bomb. The loos of her lover and finding herself pregnant Margot finds solace from Mrs Mcginty who takes her under her wing since she herself is unmarried and does not have any children of her own. The meaning of S.W.A.L.K. becomes clear when her mother explains "they are words many servicemen used to put on the back of their envelopes when posting home to wives or lovers".
