A knock at the door on a rainy night changes Ailis's life. Two officers from the newly formed secret police are searching for her husband. What will be the fate of both him and their firstborn son? Her homeland, Ireland, is at the mercy of a dictatorial government. Her city, Dublin, is the center of a bloody civil strife, and she must protect her children and her elderly father. How far will she go to save her family? And what – or whom – will she be forced to leave behind?

"From the first knock at the door, The Prophet's Song forces us to step out of our complacency," emphasized the chair of the Booker committee while announcing Paul Lynch (born Ireland, 1977) as the winner for 2023. "This is an emotional narrative, gripping and bold, that captures the anxieties of today."