The potato famine had a devastating effect on Ireland, killing millions and leaving the land unfit to grow crops. James, a tenant farmer, finally decided he could no longer support his family, and so, hitching the farm horses to a caravan, and with the milk cow tied on behind, crossed to Liverpool where, with his surviving children, and an old lady from the village, they made their way down to the west country, suffering hardship and indignity along the way. This book is a testament to one man's struggle for a right to life.