A teenager girl named Nell starts a long odyssey from London to the north of Ireland, in the hope to find her mother and brother who had left her when she was very small. She is accompanied by her grandfather Trent, and followed by a mysterious man who seems to know much about her and her family. Nell and her grandfather are also chased by the malevolent usurer Kilp and his gang. They are helped by many good people along their journey, as well as the teenager Kit, their friend and ex-worker, who joins the mysterious man to find them.