“Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan is a poignant novella set in a small Irish town during the 1980s. The story follows Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and father of five, who leads a simple life. As Christmas approaches, he encounters an unsettling secret involving the local convent’s laundries, where vulnerable young women are hidden away from society. When Bill discovers a distressed girl locked away, he is faced with a moral dilemma: to protect his family’s reputation or take a stand against the injustice he has witnessed.