Oonagh

the long version

"Eighteen-year-old Oonagh Corcoran sets sail from poverty-stricken Ireland to pursue a better life in Canada. She joins the families of her older brother and sister in a small community in Upper Canada, where her independent spirit marks her as a cold and feckless woman. Unbeknownst to her family and neighbours, Oonagh begins a friendship with Chauncey Taylor, the charming self-made barber who just a few years before escaped from slavery in the Southern United States. As she learns more about the suffering he has endured, their affection deepens and eventually leads to marriage. Based on historical research, Oonagh is both a powerful love story and a gripping tale that reaches deep into the secret heart of our nation's past."--Jacket.