This is the novel of Ireland in the tumultuous years from the mid-19th-century famine to the Easter Rebellion. The Irish peasants were scraping the earth to stay alive, when Alice found herself thrown into a world of plenty through her marriage to the wealthy landowner, Samuel Flaherty. She grew to love her husband for his fairness and gentility. She grew to understand the need for peace. But Alice never outgrew her passion for Morgan, the patriot who was ready to fight for all he loved.