Migrations is the bestselling debut novel of Charlotte McConaghy, an Australian speculative fiction writer. Published in 2020 by Flatiron Books, Migrations explores a world devastated by climate change, in which many animal species are extinct due to humanity’s treatment of the planet. The narrative is told from the first-person perspective of Franny Lynch, a woman with a mysterious and tragic past. Franny embarks on a sea voyage, following the migration of the world’s last Arctic terns, the species of bird with the longest migratory pattern. McConaghy explores themes of Love and Destruction, Sea Voyage as Self-Discovery, and Decentering Humanity from Climate Preservation. This guide refers to the 2020 Flatiron Books edition of Migrations.

Content Warning: Migrations depicts a character's death by suicide, suicidal ideations and self-harm, the death of an infant, and brief mentions of sexual violence.

Plot Summary

In the near future, climate change has caused the mass extinction of many animal species, and the planet is on the brink of collapse, Franny Lynch narrates her life story, alternating frequently between past and present.

Franny grows up on the seaside in Galway in the West of Ireland, raised by a single mother named Iris. As a child, she feels a deep sense of restlessness but tries to suppress it for the sake of her mother, who has been abandoned by her husband and can’t stand another loss. One day, Franny succumbs to her impulses and runs away for several days. When she returns, she finds the body of Iris, who has taken her own life. Traumatized, Franny suppresses the memory and constructs a false narrative that Iris abandoned her. She is sent to live with her paternal grandmother Edith, a stoic woman whom Franny dislikes.

As a young adult, Franny lives a transient life, hopping from place to place. Eventually she returns to Galway, hoping to track down her mother’s whereabouts. While working as a janitor at the University of Ireland, she falls in love with Niall Lynch, a professor of ornithology and a passionate climate activist. Franny and Niall marry and embark on a whirlwind romance. They share a connection to the natural world, with a particular love for Arctic terns.

Though Franny loves Niall, she feels trapped by their intimacy. She can’t conquer her urge to roam and often leaves Niall for weeks or months. After their daughter is born dead, Franny runs away for several months. When she returns, Niall ends their marriage. Overcome by grief, Franny steers their car into another vehicle, killing both Niall and the driver of the other car. She pleads guilty to murder and is sentenced to prison.

Franny represses the memory of Niall’s death. She continues writing letters to him as if their separation is only temporary; these letters are interspersed throughout the narrative. After four years in prison, Franny is released on parole and visits Niall’s childhood home. She reads his will, and learns of his desire to have his ashes scattered where the terns fly. Franny takes Niall’s ashes to Greenland, where she affixes trackers to the legs of several terns. In a local pub she meets Ennis Malone, the captain of the fishing vessel Saghani. She convinces him to take her on board and follow the tracked terns.

While aboard the Saghani, Franny grows close to the crew. She forms a unique bond with Ennis, who shares her obsessive personality and inability to stay in one place. The crew faces inclement weather and mounting legal restrictions which threaten to end their mission early. After commercial fishing is outlawed completely, Ennis docks the Saghani in Newfoundland with the intent of retiring the vessel.

While out walking, a climate protector attacks Franny. She kills the man in self-defense. The crew escapes on the Saghani, breaking the law. The ship’s cook, Basil, is embittered by the danger Franny has put them in. When they dock in Argentina, he turns her in, but Ennis and Franny escape on a stolen yacht. No longer able to track the terns, they rely on the knowledge of migratory patterns that Franny learned from Niall.

Ennis captains the yacht to the Weddell Sea, where the terns habitually end their migration. Along the way, Franny finally accepts the truth of Niall’s death. At the Weddell Sea, Ennis and Franny discover a vibrant cluster of surviving wildlife, including a huge flock of terns. Franny walks into the sea holding Niall’s ashes, intending to drown herself. As she sinks to the bottom of the water, she hears Niall’s voice encouraging her to persevere. She returns to the surface, where she is sentenced to six additional years in prison for breaking parole. When she is released, her father is waiting for her. The novel ends with the suggestion that they will rekindle their relationship.