Sara comes from an impoverished Irish family and from an early age, seeks independence. She realises this will only be achiveved if she leaves her family, her village and possibly her country. Her first step to 'personal' freedom results in a traumatic incident which affects her deeply and causes her to question long held tenets in her life. A love affair leads her into a disastrous 'marriage of convenience' and poverty ; a promise to keep a secret eventually results in her being ostracised by her family. Throughout her restless and often dramatic life, she survives poverty, WWII and travels across the water many times, taking her to three continents, before she embarks on an 'impossible' quest.