In 1828, off the Newfoundland fishing village of Isle aux Morts, Ann Harvey, her father, and her younger brother came upon the wreck of the Despatch, an Irish immigrant ship originally destined for Quebec City. In thick fog and fierce wind it had run aground and broken apart. Ann's courage and strength at the oars of the rescue boat were largely responsible for the saving of more than 160 dirt-poor passengers stranded amid the raging storm, left "like seabirds clinging to the rocks." Also at the story's center is Seamus, a young Irishman who had set sail with hopes of a new life in North America. This historical fiction's rich yet accessible narrative verse draws the reader into the drama of sea rescue, without losing the tender and impetuous voices of youth at the core of the story. David Blackwood's illustrations present stark, intense impressions of life at the edge of the North Atlantic.