A biographical novel about two people who were raised on opposite sides of the world and who were married because one of them was in great need. In 1889, newly-married Thomas and Maria Tobin arrive in Melbourne from Ireland. They settle in South Melbourne among many of their own countrymen and faith and start a family. Any aspirations to rise above their lowly station in life are quickly crushed with the onset of Depression in the early 1890s. With the discovery of gold in Western Australia, Thomas uproots his family and heads to the goldfields, but ultimately settles in Fremantle. Melbourne born Alice O'Dowd is growing up in the love and security of her Irish-born parents and siblings in Toorak. Her family is able to rise above the Depression as her illiterate but capable mother takes the opportunity to purchase their first home in Canterbury Road Toorak. When Thomas's wife dies in childbirth, Alice's life changes dramatically and unexpectedly

Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-228)