Dawson Press · Published 2026
Spoil
A marriage can keep its secrets.
A body cannot.
Emer Nolan studies living systems; her husband, Alec, restores old buildings. For twenty-five years, they have sustained a marriage through care, habit and boundaries they rarely put into words.
The story
What the body knows.
An encounter in a Dublin hotel room ends almost before it begins. Emer wants to understand what her body has refused. Soon afterwards, she discovers the key to a flat Alec has rented without telling her. His departure has been under way longer than she knew.
As her mother’s need for help grows and work takes her to Belfast, Emer finds herself drawn towards Marcus, a visiting scientist. Alec is preparing to leave the life they have built together. Neither can tell the whole truth of their marriage without asking what the other was allowed to know.
The film
Six parts. One changing life.
A marriage can keep its secrets. Six images follow Emer Nolan through The Intact Surface, The Second Variable, The Terms, Load-Bearing, Interference and Open System. A body cannot. Spoil, a novel by Orlaith Madigan, published by Dawson Press.
The six parts
Scenes from Spoil.
Orlaith Madigan
Dawson Press · 2026