Nine-year-old Michael O'Connor's story is typical of the two million Irish people who fled the Great Famine of Ireland between 1845 and 1850. We accompany Michael and his family through repeated failures of the potato crop that force them to leave Ireland. They seek passage of the sailing ship Dunbrody, bound for North America, where the family strives to rebuild a life in the New World.Young Michael's family is hard-hit by the Irish potato famine of the 1840's, and so they make the decision to emigrate to America, but they have no idea how horrible life on the cramped ship will be.