The Bee Sting

The Bee Sting follows the Barnes family, once wealthy and powerful in Ireland and now in financial trouble after the Great Recession. Dickie Barnes runs the chain of car dealerships he inherited from his father. His wife, Imelda, begs him to ask his father for money; he refuses, and turns his attention to building a ’futureproof’ bunker with a survivalist handyman.

Their daughter, Cass, once a top student, begins to struggle. Sections of the book are given over to each of the four members of the family in turn.