Book overview Mary Kay Andrews

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews: A Complete Book Guide

Spoiler Note

This guide contains major plot details from Road Trip, including the ending. Read at your own risk if you have not finished the book.

Quick Facts

Detail Information
Author Mary Kay Andrews
Publication Year 2026
Genre Contemporary Women’s Fiction / Family Drama
Setting Savannah, Georgia (present day); County Wicklow, Ireland (present day and 1926); New York City (1926)
Narrator Third-person limited, alternating between sisters Maeve and Therese Dunagin

Short Summary

Road Trip follows sisters Maeve and Therese Dunagin after their mother’s funeral. Maeve, a responsible teacher who has just lost her job, and Therese, a rebellious actress, discover their mother mortgaged the family home to send money to a televangelist. The only clue to their shattered inheritance is a portrait of Lady Geraldine Fitzhugh, which may be worth a fortune if authenticated in Ireland. Their mother’s secret plan forces the estranged sisters to travel to County Wicklow together. In Ireland, they uncover a tangled history involving a 1926 murder, an IRA art heist, and the true story of their great-grandmother Kathleen Connor. The journey transforms their relationship and forces each sister to choose between a safe life and an uncertain but rewarding future.

Full Summary

The Collapse of an Inheritance

Maeve Dunagin attends her mother Mary Helen’s funeral in Savannah, seething when her sister Therese arrives late and refuses to participate in the service. Their already-fractured relationship worsens when Uncle Keith, the estate executor, reveals that Mary Helen took out a $325,000 mortgage and gave the money to televangelist Brother Jerome. The bank accounts are empty. Maeve’s plans for a new car, student loan payments, and a sabbatical to write a novel are destroyed. Therese panics about her own bills.

The sisters discover that their mother saved $9,000 in a coffee can, stipulating the money must fund a trip to Ireland together. Uncle Keith offers to match the amount. Therese, meanwhile, researches a family portrait of Lady Geraldine Fitzhugh by artist Valerian DeJongh and suspects it is valuable. She steals $100 from Maeve’s purse to fund her investigation.

The Portrait’s Dangerous Promise

Maeve learns she has been fired from her teaching position at Georgia Southern. She visits lawyer Scott Childress, who confirms possible elder abuse and mail fraud charges against Brother Jerome. Therese contacts art appraiser Wyllona Jackson, who explains the painting needs provenance to be authenticated. A similar portrait recently sold at auction for $1.2 million.

After a confrontation over the stolen money, the sisters break down and agree to follow their mother’s hinted plan: book the trip to Ireland. Their aunts Bernie and Frannie reveal that great-grandmother Kathleen Connor emigrated from Ireland in 1926 aboard the S.S. Cedric, raised by a wealthy spinster at Tarrymore House in County Wicklow.

The Irish Journey

At the Atlanta airport, Therese upgrades them to first class through a flight attendant friend and offers Maeve gummies to ease her flying anxiety. In Dublin, they drive to County Wicklow and check into the Tarrymore Inn. Maeve reveals research about a 1970s IRA heist at Tarrymore mansion in which eleven paintings were stolen, including a portrait of Lady Geraldine.

On the estate tour, Maeve sneaks into forbidden areas and photographs Rossington ancestors. She meets Liam Grogan, the head distiller, who offers her a private tour. Therese, meanwhile, confronts Lady Esme Rossington at the Willow Tree pub. Esme reveals family tensions and recounts the IRA robbery. Therese hides her true purpose.

The sisters visit Isabel Woods, Kathleen Connor’s niece, who reveals that Kathleen was the illegitimate daughter of Lord Edward Rossington and was raised by Lady Delia. On the night Kathleen sailed for America, Lady Delia was stabbed to death. The family accused Kathleen of murder and theft. Isabel gives the sisters Kathleen’s old letters.

Uncovering Kathleen’s Story

Through the letters, the sisters learn Kathleen’s true history. She married Brendan Fahey, who died of a burst appendix, then married Patrick Murphy, selling a bracelet given by Lady Delia to buy a tavern. Patrick died of influenza in 1937. The letters prove the painting was a gift, not stolen.

Maeve and Therese visit the Cobh emigration museum and confirm Kathleen’s 1926 departure on the Cedric. They find a 1926 newspaper article accusing Kathleen and Clive Donovan of murdering Lady Delia. The sisters realize they must learn how a second portrait of Lady Geraldine reappeared after the IRA heist.

The IRA Connection

Maeve attends a Grogan family barbecue and meets Jamie, whose mother Starr McGahee was a member of the IRA gang that robbed Tarrymore in 1974. Starr, a former Oxford chemistry student radicalized after Bloody Sunday, acted as the decoy. The gang was betrayed by the wife of Starr’s lover. Maeve shares her own connection: Kathleen Connor fled Tarrymore after Lady Delia’s murder carrying a portrait of Lady Geraldine that may be the unrecovered heist painting.

Liam accuses Maeve of interrogating Jamie. The argument deepens but resolves when Maeve shares new information: Starr was a debutante and Oxford chemistry student who became an IRA terrorist, later giving birth to Jamie while in prison.

Confronting Esme

Therese walks to Esme’s isolated cottage. Esme greets her with a rifle but accepts gifts of apple tarts and candies. Inside, Therese reveals that their great-grandmother was the product of Lord Rossington raping a seventeen-year-old servant. Esme initially denies it, calling Kathleen a murderer and thief.

Therese confronts Esme about her involvement in the IRA heist. She reveals the duplicate Lady Geraldine portrait, Esme’s debutante connection to Starr McGahee, and Esme’s role as planner. Esme admits her unhappy marriage, her affair with IRA lookout Mick, and that she miscarried on the day of the robbery. The heist was her revenge against her father. Esme admits she hid the stolen portrait in her washroom for decades.

Violence and Inheritance

On their last full day in Ireland, a car swerves directly at the sisters. They escape with scrapes. Officer Muldoon dismisses the incident. Later, Maeve and Therese are summoned to Esme’s cottage. Esme presents a box of Kathleen’s possessions and reveals her brother Geoffrey has returned, asking about the stolen portrait sold in New York. Esme deflected his inquiries.

At the Dublin airport, Maeve discovers her passport is missing. Therese boards the flight home alone. Maeve returns to the Tarrymore Inn, where her passport is not found. She seeks refuge at Liam’s cottage after fleeing Esme’s rat-infested toolshed. They spend the night together.

Returning to Esme’s cottage to search for her passport, Maeve finds the door ajar and the parlor ransacked. She surprises Reggie, Esme’s handyman, in the act of looting. He attacks her with a knife; Maeve defends herself with a candlestick, knocking him out. Officer Muldoon discovers Esme and her dog Sinead locked in a shed—Esme is dead.

Resolution

Maeve is questioned by police. Solicitor Billy McCracken reveals that Esme changed her will before her murder. Maeve and Therese are named guardians of Sinead and beneficiaries of Esme’s entire estate, held in trust for the dog. The inheritance stems from Kathleen Connor, Esme’s grandfather’s illegitimate daughter.

After visiting Kathleen’s family headstone, Maeve decides to stay in Ireland. She calls Therese to reveal the inheritance requires one of them to live in Tarrymore. Maeve volunteers. Therese admits she hid Maeve’s passport in the hotel safe.

Back in Savannah, Therese celebrates the bank writing off their mother’s mortgage, making her sole owner of the Blueberry Hill house. An anonymous donor offers $750,000 for the Lady Geraldine painting.

Six months later, Maeve and Therese prepare for Maeve’s wedding to Liam in Ireland. The painting has been anonymously donated back to the manor house. The wedding is joyful, with the Grogan brothers cheering the couple to kiss again.

Main Characters

  • Maeve Dunagin: The responsible sister who loses her teaching job and discovers her mother’s financial ruin, then journeys to Ireland seeking authenticity.
  • Therese Dunagin: The rebellious sister who steals money and investigates the valuable family portrait, pushing Maeve to embrace change.
  • Liam Grogan: An Irish distiller and former engineer who becomes Maeve’s romantic interest, helping her uncover family secrets.
  • Lady Esme Rossington: The eccentric former owner of Tarrymore House who confesses to orchestrating an IRA art heist and bequeaths her estate to the sisters.
  • Kathleen Connor: The sisters’ great-grandmother who fled Ireland in 1926 after Lady Delia’s murder, carrying the portrait, and built a new life in America.
  • Scott “Scotty” Childress: A Savannah lawyer who helps the sisters pursue a case against their mother’s bank and televangelist, becoming a romantic interest for Therese.

Themes

  • Sibling Reconciliation: The journey forces Maeve and Therese to move past resentment and betrayal, rebuilding their bond through shared grief and discovery.
  • Family Secrets and Legacy: Hidden lineage, a disputed portrait, and a violent death in 1920s Ireland unravel the family’s myths and reshape the sisters’ understanding of their heritage.
  • Emigration and Heritage: Kathleen’s emigration to America mirrors the sisters’ return journey, examining how displacement and identity shape generations.
  • Financial Exploitation: The sisters discover their mother was preyed upon by a televangelist and a negligent bank, raising questions of elder abuse and institutional responsibility.
  • Risk and Transformation: Maeve and Therese must choose between safe, predictable lives and the uncertain rewards of pursuing love, art, and truth.

Symbols

  • Portrait of Lady Geraldine Fitzhugh: A painting by Valerian DeJongh that links the sisters to an aristocratic past and becomes the object of their quest, symbolizing inherited worth and fabricated history.
  • The LeBaron (LeBeast): The sisters’ beat-up family car, a symbol of their mother’s frugality, sibling friction, and decaying Southern legacy.
  • Kathleen’s Letters: Handwritten letters from the 1920s that reveal the true story behind the portrait and Lady Delia’s death, serving as a tangible connection to family resilience.
  • Harris Tweed Jacket Button: A torn button found at Esme’s cottage that implicates her brother Geoffrey in her murder, representing hidden guilt and the unraveling of family secrets.

Ending Explained

The novel ends six months after Esme’s death. Maeve and Therese prepare for Maeve’s wedding to Liam in Ireland. Therese gives Maeve a sapphire brooch from their mother’s jewelry box, which Maeve identifies as the Rossington family jewel described in Kathleen’s letter. The painting of Lady Geraldine has been anonymously donated back to the manor house, likely by Liam’s brother Luke. Uncle Keith gives Maeve away wearing the Dunagin Hibernian Society hat. Geoffrey Rossington has been arrested for Esme’s murder. The wedding celebration marks the sisters’ full reconciliation and Maeve’s embrace of a new life in Ireland. For a deeper analysis, visit the ending explained page.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Chapter Key Events Link
Prologue In 1926 Ireland, Lady Delia orchestrates Kathleen’s escape with a portrait and valuables. A violent confrontation leaves Delia seriously injured. Read Summary
Chapter 1 Maeve attends Mary Helen’s funeral. Therese arrives late and refuses to participate in the service. Read Summary
Chapter 2 Seven years before her death, Mary Helen presents her funeral plan. The sisters’ conflict deepens at the funeral. Read Summary
Chapter 3 Therese gets drunk and recalls finding an article about a portrait identical to Mary Helen’s selling for $1.2 million. Read Summary
Chapter 4 Maeve learns the family home is a teardown. The sisters argue over the portrait and Uncle Keith being named executor. Read Summary
Chapter 5 Uncle Keith reveals Mary Helen took out a $325,000 mortgage and gave the money to televangelist Brother Jerome. Read Summary
Chapter 6 Keith shows the sisters $9,000 in cash, stipulating they use it for a trip to Ireland together. Read Summary
Chapter 7 Maeve is fired from her teaching job via email. She discovers her mother’s mortgage for Brother Jerome. Read Summary
Chapter 8 Maeve visits lawyer Scott Childress to discuss elder abuse charges against the televangelist. Read Summary
Chapter 9 Therese meets art appraiser Wyllona Jackson, who explains the portrait needs provenance to be authenticated. Read Summary
Chapter 10 Therese discovers Maeve was fired. The sisters apologize and decide to book the trip to Ireland. Read Summary
Chapter 11 Aunts Bernie and Frannie reveal that great-grandmother Kathleen Connor emigrated from Ireland in 1926. Read Summary
Chapter 12 In 1926, Kathleen boards the Cedric in Cobh and experiences severe seasickness during the crossing. Read Summary
Chapter 13 Therese upgrades them to first class and offers Maeve gummies for her flying anxiety. Read Summary
Chapter 14 Kathleen arrives at Ellis Island with Maggy and Dolly, heading into New York together. Read Summary
Chapter 15 Maeve reveals research on a 1970s IRA heist at Tarrymore mansion where paintings were stolen. Read Summary
Chapter 16 The sisters tour Tarrymore Manor. The guide mentions a ceiling mural by Valerian DeJongh. Read Summary
Chapter 17 Maeve sneaks into forbidden areas of Tarrymore and meets distiller Liam Grogan. Read Summary
Chapter 18 Liam takes Maeve to Tarrymore Home Farm. She mentions Kathleen Connor; Liam and Madelyn exchange an evasive look. Read Summary
Chapter 19 Therese meets Esme Rossington at the Willow Tree pub and hides her real purpose in Ireland. Read Summary
Chapter 20 Isabel Woods reveals Kathleen was the illegitimate daughter of Lord Edward Rossington and that Lady Delia was stabbed to death. Read Summary
Chapter 21 Therese gives Maeve a makeover for her date with Liam and reads a 1926 letter from Kathleen. Read Summary
Chapter 22 Maeve’s first date with Liam includes whiskey tasting and shared personal histories. Read Summary
Chapter 23 Therese reads Kathleen’s December 1928 letter denying involvement in Lady Delia’s death. Read Summary
Chapter 24 Liam takes Maeve to the Three-Legged Goat pub in Dublin for traditional Irish music. Read Summary
Chapter 25 Scotty Childress sends mixed news about the fraud case. Therese feels newly protective of Maeve. Read Summary
Chapter 26 Maeve shares the full portrait story with Liam. He kisses her and she agrees to meet again. Read Summary
Chapter 27 The sisters visit the Cobh heritage center and plan to read Kathleen’s letters that evening. Read Summary
Chapter 28 Genealogist Christy confirms Kathleen’s 1926 departure on the Cedric and her confirmation record. Read Summary
Chapter 29 Kathleen’s letters reveal her marriages and prove the painting was a gift, not stolen. Read Summary
Chapter 30 Therese urges Maeve to finish her novel. Maeve receives a text from Liam inviting her for a nightcap. Read Summary
Chapter 31 Maeve and Liam confront Esme about the missing portrait. Esme warns them to let the dead rest. Read Summary
Chapter 32 Liam reveals IRA gang members are dead. Maeve confesses her guilt over her mother’s financial ruin. Read Summary
Chapter 33 Therese discovers their Lady Geraldine portrait is the original, worth more than a preliminary study. Read Summary
Chapter 34 The sisters drive Esme to retrieve her drunk helper Reggie. Esme calls them spinsters. Read Summary
Chapter 35 Therese teases Maeve about her night with Liam over tea at the Rosebud Tea Shoppe. Read Summary
Chapter 36 The sisters find newspaper clippings about Lady Delia’s murder in the village library. Read Summary
Chapter 37 A 1926 newspaper accuses Kathleen and Clive Donovan of murdering Lady Delia. Read Summary
Chapter 38 Jamie reveals his mother Starr was an IRA member who acted as the decoy in the 1974 robbery. Read Summary
Chapter 39 Liam accuses Maeve of interrogating Jamie. They argue and Maeve attempts to end the relationship. Read Summary
Chapter 40 The sisters discover their rental car tires slashed. Therese confronts Esme alone. Read Summary
Chapter 41 Esme threatens Therese with a rifle. Therese reveals Kathleen was the product of Lord Rossington raping a servant. Read Summary
Chapter 42 Esme admits her role as planner of the IRA heist, her unhappy marriage, and her miscarriage. Read Summary
Chapter 43 Esme admits she hid the stolen portrait in her washroom for decades and sold it for money. Read Summary
Chapter 44 Therese returns exhilarated after Esme’s confession. Maeve decides to write a novel about Kathleen. Read Summary
Chapter 45 A car swerves at the sisters. They escape with scrapes. Officer Muldoon dismisses the incident. Read Summary
Chapter 46 The sisters drive the Dingle Peninsula and hold a baby lamb. Therese pressures Maeve to call Liam. Read Summary
Chapter 47 Maeve apologizes to Liam and kisses him goodbye, resolved to move forward alone. Read Summary
Chapter 48 Esme gives the sisters a box of Kathleen’s possessions and reveals her brother Geoffrey has returned. Read Summary
Chapter 49 Scotty calls with news about a bank teller willing to talk. Therese secretly copies a photo of Maeve and Liam. Read Summary
Chapter 50 At the airport hotel, the sisters discover only one bed. Therese watches Friends as comfort television. Read Summary
Chapter 51 Maeve discovers her passport is missing. Therese boards the flight home as Maeve remains stranded. Read Summary
Chapter 52 Maeve rents a manual car and returns to the inn. Her passport is not found. Liam confronts her. Read Summary
Chapter 53 Maeve flees Esme’s rat-infested shed and seeks refuge at Liam’s cottage. They spend the night together. Read Summary
Chapter 54 Maeve surprises Reggie looting Esme’s cottage. He attacks her; she knocks him out. Esme is found dead. Read Summary
Chapter 55 Bank teller Arletha reveals she warned supervisors about Mary Helen’s cognitive decline and excessive withdrawals. Read Summary
Chapter 56 Therese considers staying in Savannah. Scotty invites her for a Sunday drive and lunch. Read Summary
Chapter 57 Maeve calls from a police station after the attack. Therese announces she wants to buy their mother’s house. Read Summary
Chapter 58 Officer Muldoon learns Esme was likely strangled. Reggie accuses Maeve. Maeve’s passport is missing. Read Summary
Chapter 59 Solicitor Billy McCracken reveals Esme changed her will. Maeve and Therese inherit the estate in trust for Sinead. Read Summary
Chapter 60 Maeve learns the inheritance requires one sister to live in Ireland. Esme secretly owned the local inn. Read Summary
Chapter 61 Maeve visits Kathleen’s family headstone and decides to stay in Ireland. Therese admits she hid the passport. Read Summary
Chapter 62 Maeve moves into the inn’s owner’s suite, commits to staying in Ireland, and calls Liam and Sinead a “sercy.” Read Summary
Chapter 63 Geoffrey threatens to contest the will. Maeve finds a Harris Tweed jacket button and reports him to Muldoon. Read Summary
Chapter 64 Maeve visits the inherited Gardener’s Cottage. Geoffrey is arrested for murder. Maeve claims the library as her office. Read Summary
Chapter 65 The bank writes off the mother’s mortgage. An anonymous donor offers $750,000 for the painting. Read Summary
Epilogue Six months later, Maeve marries Liam in Ireland. The painting is anonymously donated to the manor house. Read Summary

Common Questions and Answers

1. What is the portrait of Lady Geraldine Fitzhugh?

The portrait is a painting by artist Valerian DeJongh that depicts Lady Geraldine Cressida Fitzhugh Rossington. It is a central object in the story, linking the Dunagin sisters to an aristocratic Irish lineage. Therese discovers a similar portrait recently sold for $1.2 million at auction. Maeve and Therese later learn that the painting was hidden by Esme Rossington after the 1970s IRA heist at Tarrymore House.

2. Who killed Lady Delia Rossington in 1926?

The novel strongly suggests that Lady Fiona Rossington, Delia’s sister-in-law, was responsible for Lady Delia’s stabbing. The 1926 newspaper article accused Kathleen Connor and Clive Donovan of the murder, but Kathleen’s letters prove she escaped before the killing. Esme later tells Therese that her grandmother Fiona was likely the killer, not her father.

3. What happens to Lady Esme Rossington?

Esme is murdered during the course of the novel. After Maeve and Liam visit her cottage to search for Maeve’s missing passport, Maeve discovers Reggie, Esme’s handyman, in the act of looting. Reggie attacked Maeve with a knife, but Officer Muldoon later discovers Esme and her dog locked in a shed. Esme was strangled. Reggie confesses to poisoning Esme with rat poison but denies strangling her. The button from Geoffrey’s Harris Tweed jacket at the crime scene leads to his arrest for the murder.

4. Do Maeve and Liam end up together?

Yes. Six months after the main events, Maeve and Liam marry in Ireland at St. Bonaventure Church. Maeve wears her grandmother’s wedding dress. Uncle Keith gives Maeve away wearing the Dunagin Hibernian Society hat. The wedding is joyful and attended by both families.

5. What is the IRA heist connection to the Dunagin family?

The 1974 IRA heist at Tarrymore House involved the theft of eleven paintings, including a portrait of Lady Geraldine. The ringleader was Starr McGahee, a former Oxford chemistry student. Esme Rossington planned the heist as revenge against her father. She hid the original Lady Geraldine portrait in her washroom for decades and sold it when she needed money. The painting that Kathleen Connor brought to America in 1926 was a separate, legitimate gift from Lady Delia.

6. What happens with the sisters’ financial situation?

Therese discovers that former bank teller Arletha Carter kept copies of emails warning supervisors about Mary Helen’s cognitive decline and excessive withdrawals. With Scotty Childress’s help, this gives them leverage to negotiate with the bank. By the end of the novel, the bank writes off the mortgage, and Therese becomes sole owner of the Blueberry Hill house. An anonymous donor offers $750,000 for the Lady Geraldine painting, and the sisters consider countering at $800,000 to avoid auction fees.

7. Why does Therese hide Maeve’s passport?

Therese hides Maeve’s passport in the hotel safe to prevent Maeve from leaving Ireland immediately. She admits this after Maeve decides to stay in Tarrymore to fulfill the inheritance condition. The act ensures Maeve cannot make a hasty decision to leave Liam and the new life opening up for her.

8. What is the significance of Kathleen’s letters?

The letters are handwritten correspondence from Kathleen Connor to her brother Tommy in Ireland. They reveal the true story behind the portrait, Kathleen’s marriages, and her innocence in Lady Delia’s death. The letters serve as tangible proof that the painting was a gift, not stolen property, and provide the provenance needed to authenticate the portrait. They also connect the sisters to their ancestor’s resilience and sacrifice.

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