Ten-year-old twins Kirsty & David Murray love their crofting life in the north of Scotland They collect shellfish milk the cows & help their father grow oats & vegetables Then one day the Countess's men come & burn their house saying they must leave The family travel across Scotland to Glasgow City life is dirty & overcrowded & work in the mills is hard & dangerous The chance comes to join a ship sailing for Hudson Bay in Canada & once again they start a long perilous journey Will they survive the treacherous Atlantic crossing & what will they find in the strange new land? Kathleen Fidler had a gift for bringing characters from history to life for today's children The Desperate Journey is her best-known story a true Scottish classic whose thrilling plot will keep children gripped from start to end