In 1845-49, the potato crop in Ireland failed and threw Tara O'Brien, the main character, and Ireland into terrifying fear, the crop being their main livelihood. Her mother's illness forces Tara to obtain a paying seamstress position in the north. She meets a British officer, Thomas Litchfield, who falls in love with her. She accepts his dinner invitations since she is close to starving but finally stops seeing him. He vows to love her until he...