The second installment in the family saga of Rose Sullivan, who immigrates to America in 1880 and falls in love with a mercurial Irishman named Sean, who killed a man in Ireland. It's a story of love lost, bootleg liquor, the birth of the movie industry, a standup man, a secret in a locked steamer trunk, and the tumult of the 1920s in America. Rose has to endure many trials, as her husband leaves her to fend for herself with three small children. Sean, who changes his name to Peter and then James, has a restless energy that keeps him always looking for the next big thing, and that often gets him into trouble. Their lives take them in different directions, and they find love in different ways.