Ten-year-old twins Kirsty & David Murray love their crofting life in the north of Scotl&. They collect shellfish milk the cows & help their father grow oats & vegetables. Then one day the Countesss 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 todays children. The Desperate Journey is her best-known story a true Scottish classic whose thrilling plot will keep children gripped from start to end.