These characters speak from the heart - the pain and excitement of leaving, the struggle to find work and raise a family and always the longing for home that never goes away. A Cork man drawn into the gangs of 19th century Manchester finds an unlikely escape from his criminal life. A navvy, 'Sure, didn't we build England for them,' is moved by tragedy to make something of himself. A young woman arrives in England expecting the excitement she's read about in magazines, but her matchmaker cousin has other ideas . . . Those who crossed the sea carried not only their dreams of a better life, but the strength and good humour to adapt and survive. These fifteen stories portray with precision and honesty the experience of Irish immigrants-focusing on moments of passion, stark reality, and that eternal conflict between where they belong and where they live.