The Deceit and Desire

Set against the framing device of the 2020 Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, The Deceit and Desire unfolds as Patricia Dishon introduces the tragic legacy of child transportation schemes to Canada in the late nineteenth century. The story shifts to Edinburgh in 1882, where Arthur Delaney, an Irish immigrant descendent living in poverty on the Royal Mile, is left devastated after his wife Mary and their newborn die during childbirth. Struggling to work and care for his three young children—James, Annie and Robina—Arthur is persuaded by Miss Guthrie of the Edinburgh and Leith Children’s Aid and Refuge Charity to place them temporarily into care, reassured they can be returned at any time. Unbeknownst to him, the charity’s anti-Catholic director, Emma Stirling, is orchestrating an agreement with the Canadian Government to export vulnerable children as part of an immigration and labour programme, and Arthur’s children are soon shipped to Nova Scotia.

​Broken by grief, guilt and taken to drink, Arthur reaches his lowest point before finding redemption through the compassion of Cecilia, whom he later marries. When they attempt to reclaim the children, Arthur discovers the devastating truth of their removal overseas. With the support of Father Hannan, a church lawyer, and a close-knit community, Arthur wins a legal judgment against the charity, forcing its directors to admit culpability. Using the compensation awarded, he embarks on a perilous journey across the Atlantic with a private detective to find his children. What follows is an epic, emotionally charged struggle against institutional power and religious bigotry, exposing a brutal historical period where child labour was legal and justice favoured the wealthy. Ultimately, the story is one of loss and moral awakening—a man’s fall from grace and hard-won salvation as he fights not only for his own children, but to right the wrongs inflicted on countless others.