Marte-Marie, orphaned and homeless in France, had nothing to prevent her from accepting an invitation from Jeanne Mance to join the settlement on the island of Montreal in New France. From the moment of her arrival at the starving, beleaguered fortress of Ville-Marie, Marte-Marie has to confront situations that test her physical and emotional strength to the limit, but also bring her great happiness. Struggling to establish a farm and raise her ever-growing family in her new environment, Marte-Marie must also contend with isolation, Iroquois raids, incompetent French officials, a husband who is away more than he is home, and her own evaluation and doubts about her role in the New World.

In this book she recounts the stories of her fight to survive in the tiny settlement that grew into one of the greatest cities in Canada.