As European populations boomed in the 1870s, people emigrated to America in their thousands, led there by stories of adventure and opportunity as the country expanded to the West. One such family, the Harts from Clerkenwell in Middlesex, never made it beyond New York, where they settled down to a life of industry in 1873. Only one member got further: the family’s teenage daughter, Rebecca. Wanting more adventure in her life, she ran away to California in ‘77, in the company of a young man from Pennsylvania. Ashamed of their daughter, her parents initially denied her, but the years softened them. Six years have passed, and following the recent death of his wife, Mr James Hart has finally resolved to find his eldest daughter. The family are moving West as they’d always hoped, but a small party is going ahead to find the prodigal child. Armed with only a handful of letters, and a physical description from six years ago, they want only to bring her back to her family, if she yet lives...