Hunger deepened in Ireland in 1848 as the potato crop failed again. In London, the government, alarmed by austerity in England and revolution in Europe, refused to re-open the soup kitchens in Ireland. But, worse still, they refused to halt food exports from the starving country. Emigration quickened as many were evicted, and many more fled from a wasted land. They worked the waterfronts and coal mine of America and the railways and building sites of England. But hunger still stalked them. Cold is the Dawn follows these men and women and their bitter fight for survival in Ireland, England and America.