Elizabeth Lawford crossed the Atlantic with her husband to a tiny island in Newfoundland leaving all she had ever known behind. Her first summer in her new country is marked by tragedy and hardship. Emma Jane Coveyduck contemplates the curse that has followed her all of her life. Ida Phoebe Parsons is a modern, progressive woman in 1934. She is chosen by Dr. Blackall of Memorial College to set up and teach adult education at Opportunity School in Harbour Grace.