In April 1923 the SS Metagama weighed anchor off Stornoway and set sail for Montreal. On board were three hundred young men and women bound for a new life in North America. Partly driven by the lure of opportunities overseas, these young Leosachs were also participants in the new government programme of state-aided emigration.Based on personal interviews with those who travelled to the New World on the Metagama and other ships, Jim Wilkie sets their story in the context of emigration in Lewis over the centuries, to produce a fascinating insight into one of the central events in the island's history.

Jim Wilkie was born and educated in Dundee. After an early struggle with the  West Highland Free Press  and a more protracted skirmish with the music business, he now freelances as a Press and Development person who writes and performs occasionally. He is married with two children.