The building of the canal system, in the United States although short lived, provided industrial access to areas that were closed to economic development. The canal system in the eastern United States helped to provide the impetus for the development of the railroad which in fact brought about the demise of the canal system as a viable economic mode of transportation within a ten year period. Canal is a story that follows the lives of a Scottish and Irish family's multi-generational journey from Scotland to Ireland then to Canada and finally to the United States. It is paralleled by the lives, loves and fortunes lost and found along the way and the role the Irish Navy played in the industrialization of America.