1855, Isle of Skye. During her long life, Christy Macleod would never forget her fifteenth birthday, for it was on that fateful day she lost her mother and her home. As the smoke from the burning cottages drifts over the rugged landscape of Skye, she cradles her newly-born sister and comforts her three young brothers as the flames devour their tiny cottage. She has no idea what the future holds for them all, but it is up to her now to keep her family alive. Within a matter of weeks, Christy and her family have boarded the clipper Storm Cloud, which will take them to a new life on the other side of the world - their destination: Launceston, Tasmania. There Christy meets Hans Muller and she dares to dream of a better future. But Hans's parents don't approve of the blossoming romance, and Hans is sent far away. Will the two ever be reunited, or are they destined to be star-crossed lovers, kept apart by family duty?