Inside the O'Briens

Joe O'Brien is a 44-year-old police officer who was raised in Charlestown, Massachusetts, an Irish Catholic neighbourhood. Joe, a respected officer, loving spouse, and proud father of four children in their thirties, starts to exhibit odd, involuntary motions, unexpected angry outbursts, and disorganised thinking. At first, he blames the episodes on the stress of his work, but as the symptoms become worse, he goes to visit a neurologist and is diagnosed with Huntington's disease, which will have a lifelong impact on him and his family.

There is no known cure or therapy for the fatal neurological illness Huntington's. Joe's four offspring can be genetically determined by a simple blood test, and each has a 50% probability of inheriting their father's illness. The twenty-one-year-old daughter Katie is troubled by the concerns this test offers for her early adult life as she observes her father's symptoms becoming worse and considers her own future. Is she curious to know? What happens if she carries the gene? Is she able to cope with her incessant fear of ignorance?

While Katie and her siblings must have the fortitude to either live a life "at risk" or accept their destiny, Joe battles to hold onto optimism and a sense of purpose as his symptoms deteriorate and he is finally robbed of his badge and more.