Thirteen-year-old Rose Dunlea feels embarrassed at being held back in school because she finds it difficult to read, and she prays that she won't have to attend school anymore. The next day, December 6, 1917, two ships collide in Halifax Harbour, resulting in the greatest human tragedy seen in Canada. Rose believes it is her fault. Grief stricken, she turns to the stories of her Irish grandmother that are stitched into the Irish Chain quilt for courage.