In the Clearances of the 19th century, crofts - once the mainstay of Highland life in Scotland - were swept away as the land was put over to sheep grazing. The agony of the Clearances and the crofters' epic migration to Canada is the subject of this book. For several generations the people of the Highlands and islands of Scotland were forced from their homes by landowners in the Clearances. Many fled to Nova Scotia and beyond. The book's author set out to discover how many of their stories survive in the memories of their descendants. He travelled through 21 islands in Scotland and Canada, many thousands of miles of moor and glen, and the book presents the words of men and women of both countries as they recount the suffering of their forbears.