Maddie Mulligan — Valerie Holmes

Desperate to leave a life of poverty and ill treatment behind her, Mairead Mulligan agrees to marry Samuel Blackman, a man she has never met, and leave Ireland for the Settlement Straits of Malaya. On the way to Dublin, she has the good luck to fall under the protection of Connor Riley, a mysterious man of means, and the two are drawn to each other. Suddenly, a new life across the world with Mr Blackman holds little appeal - and Mairead must make some difficult choices...