Thousands of Irish emigrants are boarding ships to flee the potato famine at home, hoping for a better life in Canada. Yet, many do not survive the crossing. Those who do reach Canada, arrive weakened, starving and riddled with disease and are forced to stay in quarantine on Grosse Isle, an Island just outside Quebec.

This is the story of one doctor's seemingly hopeless struggle against the deadly disease that threatens to spread inland and affect other large cities like Montreal and Toronto. Andrea Barrett's sensitive account of one of the 19th Century's defining moments masterfully challenges readers' awareness and perception of current events. After all, history does have a habit of repeating itself.