The book presents the story of the author's family in southwestern Nova Scotia and New England in historical context. John Grant and Mary Sabean settled in Sissiboo, now known as Weymouth, Digby, Nova Scotia. They raised a family of seven children on a small farm - the children and their offspring then migrated internally to Annapolis, Lunenburg, and Yarmouth counties. From there, many of them were drawn by the jobs magnet of Boston and Massachusetts, then to other American states. They were farmers, foresters, factory workers and soldiers, sailors, educators, and selfless volunteers. They suffered from disease, melancholy, and brutal living conditions. Yet they persevered to become greater than the sum of their genealogy.