
Shannon's parents, still in Ireland, face a devastating loss and decide to come to America to be with her. Joseph and Shannon are left to starve in the winter cold. All goes well until Joseph loses a boxing match, after which their money is taken away. Joseph becomes a local barehands boxer, while Shannon works in a chicken processing plant and then as a dancer at the social club. Upon arriving in Boston, Mass., they find jobs and begin saving money.

She makes her plans to leave for America, and with her help, Joseph is able to escape. Meanwhile, Shannon, Daniel's daughter, is growing dissatisfied with the traditional views of her parents' generation and longs to be modern. Instead of killing Christie, however, he is injured and sentenced to a duel with Christie's arrogant manager, Stephen Chase.

Joseph Donnelly, a young Irishman facing property eviction after his father's death, decides to take revenge on Daniel Christie, his landlord.
