The great potato famine in Ireland between 1845-1849 forced some two million Irish to look to foreign lands to survive. They emigrated to Australia, Canada and the United States where their arrival changed the face of America. Among these emigrants are Dugan Driscoll and his cousin Paddy Newton, who work their way across the Atlantic on a steam-sailing ship. They find life in New York city daunting! But Dugan, even at sixteen, is smart, capable and determined to make good. They are helped along the way by other Irish; Dugan never forgets a favor - he carries these friends along with him through the years. When he becomes preoccupied with success. Dugan finds no time for his family making Paddy the actual head, knitting the family into one cohesive whole. This book is about overcoming adversity by seizing chances; it is about duty, loyalty and friendship; above all it is about love which is sometimes misplaced.