A Family Matter by Claire Lynch weaves together two timelines—1982 and 2022—to explore how family, secrecy, and social expectations shape our lives. In the present day, elderly Heron receives a terminal cancer diagnosis but struggles to tell his daughter Maggie, choosing instead to shield her while maintaining his rigid routines. As Maggie helps him sort through decades of unrevealed truths and paperwork, she begins to sense there’s more to her family’s past than she realized.

Flash back to 1982, when Dawn—Heron’s then-wife and Maggie’s mother—is drawn into a passionate relationship with another woman, Hazel. Their connection offers Dawn joy and freedom but clashes with societal norms of the time. The love that blossoms leads to heartbreak: prejudice-driven legal battles strip Dawn of custody, and she disappears from Maggie’s life. Four decades later, the past collides with the present as Maggie uncovers the hidden layers of family loyalty, love, and sacrifice¹.