His grandfather had been a Catholic priest. A story in seven words, and his life the unsolved mystery. Rome, 1953. David is young, handsome, charismatic, and sworn to celibacy. He is freshly ordained, and about to return to England to begin life as a priest. Devotion to God is all he's ever known, and all he thinks he ever will.In London, Margaret is entangled in an impossible love affair. Increasingly drawn to the Church, she sets out to join the new revolutions of sex and faith.

Decades later, Margaret is being cared for by her grandson who has just discovered the strange truth of his family history, and the consquences of her and David's relationship across the generations. Stephanie Sy Quia's debut novel A Private Man is an exquisite story of forbidden love and ardent faith, of devotion and sacrifice.