"The Irish who migrated to Canada fleeing the potato famine had an impact and history well worth noting. Urquhart begins with the story of Mary, a maiden who becomes enamored, perhaps possessed by the spirit of a sailor who dies in her arms on the beach of her Irish homeland. Mary and her earthbound husband, Brian, migrate during the famine at the urging and expense of their landlord. It is this same landlord who appears in the New World to give their son, Liam, and his sister, Eileen, a new start after their father's death. Mary's fey heritage is passed on to her daughter and great-granddaughter Esther O'Malley Robertson, raised in Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario. Urquhart's blending of the spiritual and political sides of the Irish makes an amazing story told in a language that is melodious and laden with complex imagery."

Canada Reads, 2013 finalist