Sister Deirdre Logan, principal of the Precious Blood convent school of Oak Hill, is seeing the world change around her. She is slowly coming to terms with the death of her closest friend, Ita, from cancer and is concerned about the dramatic fall in the number of new vocations to the church and her students' apparent loss of faith. Worst of all, the school is selling off some of it's land to developers, and the body of it's founder, Catherine Browne, will have to be exhumed to allow the building work to proceed. Then Sister Deirdre is asked to write Catherine's biography. As she delves deeper into the archives, she realises that the founder may not have been quite the woman that those around her thought she was. And as she learns more about this remarkable woman, Deirdre begins to be drawn into the details of her life and to reflect on the choices she has made herself over the years. Swan Song is a multilayered tale of the joys and trials of the religious life, and a gripping examination of the personal pressures with which we all have to deal.