What would you sacrifice for your children? Ballymor, Ireland, 1847. As the country starves in the grip of famine Bridget Tooley is left widowed and alone. Fighting to keep her two remaining children alive against all odds, Bridget faces the truth that not everyone will survive and what will she be willing to sacrifice to save her children? Present day: Arriving in Ballymor, Maria McCarthy is researching her great-great-grandfather, Victorian artist Michael McCarthy - and his beloved mother, the mysterious Bridget. The subject of so many of his portraits, Bridget has fascinated historians for years, as in reality she disappeared without a trace. Pregnant and afraid of motherhood, it's not only answers about the past that Maria hopes to find in Ireland. As her search brings her closer to the truth about Bridget's fate, Maria will discover that a mother's love is as powerful and enduring as time itself