In 1852, amid the Great Famine, fourteen-year-old Cornelius boards a “coffin ship” bound for Boston—braving one of the most harrowing emigration stories in New England historical fiction. Alone in a new world, Cornelius faces danger and determination on his journey from Irish immigrant to Milford bootmaker, each step embodying the spirit found in family journals and multi-generational sagas.

Together, their families endure the rise of industry, the devastation of war, and economic upheaval—each generation united by emotional ties, regional pride, and the strength of artisanship. Their American-born children eventually join their two immigrant families in marriage, creating a remarkable historical family saga.