- An orphaned young boy is guided by his great-grandfather and strives to go to university to become a doctor. However, the boy's harsh grandfather stands in his way.
- When young Robert Shannon is orphaned he leaves his home in Ireland and travels to Loganford, Scotland, home of his maternal grandparents. Growing up in the home of his penny-pinching grandfather is made bearable by his doting but irresponsible great-grandfather, loving grandmother and kind aunt and uncle. After a rocky start in his new school Robbie adjusts and is befriended by Gavin and Alison, whom he grows to love as the years pass. As he matures into a young man Robbie's dreams turn to medicine and becoming a doctor. Supported by everyone in the family except his grandfather, he studies for a scholarship as a way to escape life toiling in the local boiler-works.—Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>
- 1900. After he is orphaned, poor adolescent Robert Shannon is sent from the only home he's ever known in Dublin, Ireland to live with his mother's working class extended family, who he's never met, in Loganford, Scotland. His official guardians will be his maternal grandparents, "Papa" and "Mama", with he being the fourth generation living in the already cramped house. As penny-pinching and misery Papa has no interest in spending his hard earned money on yet another mouth, Robert's care is fought between the first generation in the house, Papa's mother, who sees herself as the practical one regardless of Robert's feelings, and Mama's father, Alexander Gow, whose red nose is due to his love of the drink and whose stories of fancy he passes off to Robert as reality. Robert's difficult transition to this new living situation is made all the more so in being bullied by most of his new classmates. Regardless, he is able to thrive and makes a few close friends. By the time he eventually graduates, another person has emerged as that practical force in his life looking out for his best interest and he has another supporter in his corner, his teacher Jason Reid, who sees in Robert a brilliant scientific mind, Robert whose dream is to become a physician. While his best friends, Alison Keith and Gavin Blair, Alison who also wants to be Mrs. Robert Shannon, seem to be on a path to realizing their professional goals in music and history respectively, Robert is somewhat at the mercy of Papa, who can only see in Robert the short term goal of being a contributing member to the household's finances by working in the iron works.—Huggo
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