"My dearest Kate," Joseph wrote, "I am well and you are not to worry. But I have come as near to you and home as I dare. It does no harm for me to tell you that I am in London, as my presence here is already known, though not my exact location. No doubt home will be watched and you followed, so we cannot risk meeting. And so, darling Kate, I am off to America…"
It is October 1844. With the death of the evil Colonel Mahon and the greatest harvest of potatoes in living memory, it looks like peace and prosperity are finally on the way to the village of Ballynockanor. But this is only the calm before the storm. Politically, British invaders threaten to undermine the movement for Irish independence, but it is the impending potato blight that very well may end all dreams and destroy a centuries-old way of life.
As Kate waits for the birth of their baby, Joseph is in hiding in London, trying to find a way to come to Ireland and assure himself of his beloved wife's safety. But plot and counterplot stand between him and a sweet reunion with those he loves.
Will Kate and Joseph find safety in each other's arms? Can the villagers of Ballynockanor survive the potato famine, a disaster which will forever change the face of Ireland? And who will live to see another spring within the sound of the river in green and lovely Galway?
