Girl with Green Eyes

Kate leaves her rural family home and relocates to Dublin to start a new life. She works in a grocery shop and rooms with Baba Brennan, her friend from school.

Kate and Baba go dancing at clubs and date the young men they meet. Baba is more socially adept, while Kate remains shy and more tentative about romance.

On a ride to the countryside with Baba’s boyfriend, they meet Eugene Gaillard, a sophisticated middle aged author. Kate is drawn to him immediately by his charm and intellect.

Kate spots Eugene again in a Dublin bookshop and starts a conversation. A friendship develops, soon turning into a romance.

Kate and Eugene fall in love despite their age difference. They become intimate, but Kate cannot bring herself to have sex.

Kate learns that Eugene is married with a child and that his wife has gone to the United States to obtain a divorce. The revelation strains their relationship.

Upon learning of the affair, Kate's father travels to Dublin with friends to take her back to the rural home. The family exerts pressure as Kate resists the pull of her world.

Kate tries to slip away the next morning but is waylaid by a cowhand. A priest then lectures her, and she runs off, caught between two worlds.

Kate's father and his friends appear and punch Eugene, but Josie the housekeeper fires a shotgun to drive them off. The danger temporarily ends the confrontation.

Kate and Eugene finally consummate their relationship. He buys her a ring and she begins dressing more like a married woman, signaling a commitment in her eyes.

They live together for a time, but Kate grows unhappy because Eugene does not share her Catholic beliefs and his friends do not take her seriously. He keeps writing to his estranged wife as well.

When Eugene's wife sends a plane ticket, Kate gives him an ultimatum to choose between them, but he does not react as she wishes. The relationship begins to fall apart.

Kate leaves Eugene and returns to Baba, who is packing to move to London. She hopes Eugene will follow, watching the dock edge for his arrival.

Eugene does not appear; instead he sends a note that the break-up may be for the best. Kate begins night school and meets different people, different men as she moves on.