Set in Edinburgh in the 1880s, Arthur Delaney and his family live in the high tenements of the city where the poor struggle to survive in harsh conditions.

Arthur Delaney and his wife Mary live under basic conditions in the tenement located in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh with their three children, James, Annie and Robina.

Mary dies during pregnancy despite the efforts of their neighbour Maggie Clark.

Not only does Arthur lose his wife but the newborn child does not survive, leaving him distraught.

Arthur is left to look after his three children in a harsh environment where the poor struggle to survive.

Arthur meets Miss Guthrie who works for Emma Stirling in the Edinburgh and Leith Childrens Aid and Refuge boarding school.

​Witnessing the state of the children, she advises he place them in the school for a fee of one shilling per week per child.

Arthur hands the children over to the Refuge, promising he will visit them each week once he has found a job and got back on his feet.

Emma Stirling board a ship at Liverpool with the children bound for Nova Scotia.

Penniless and addicted to alcohol, the distraught Arthur is helped by Cecilia who he meets in St. Patrick's Church. She helps him turn his life around and they eventually marry.

Emma Stirling arrives at Hillfoot Farm in Nova Scotia with the children who will eventually be sent off to other farms as part of a child labour scheme.

James Delaney sits at Hillfoot Farm in Nova Scotia whittling a piece of wood like his father taught him back in Edinburgh.

Arthur confronts Emma Stirling in the street in his attempt to have the children returned.