It is 1845. In Ireland the potato crop has failed ushering in a six year period of famine and disease which will destroy a million lives and compel another million people to flee the country. A woman cursed by a priest stands alone on a clifftop trying to summon up the courage to jump. Her brother stands accused of murder and rebellion against the state. Surrounded by a troop of soldiers a landlord destroys the homes of his tenants leaving them to die on the hillsides. The British Government responds to the crisis, reshaping Irish society with disastrous results