Based on the Brian Friel play, this is a story of the sisters of the Mundy family. The summer of 1936, when the action of DANCING AT LUGHNASA takes place, is beautiful, but Europe is on the verge of terrible change. Through that glorious summer, at the very edge of Europe, in Ballybeg, Donegal, the Mundy family shelter in their small home - five sisters, one brother and Michael, the love child of Christina, the youngest sister. The film is seen through the eyes of the boy. He feels the joy and security of his close-knit clan, but its secrets and sorrows begin to break through. They will tear this world apart. The arrival of Michael's father, a Welsh man, Gerry Evans, on his way to fight for Franco in Spain, unleashes repressed passion. The Eden of Ballybeg is changed forever.