Billy Higgins and his family have a good life in Vancouver. His father is a skilled working man--a tool and die cutter--and while they aren't rich they are comfortable, and happy.
But when the Great Depression strikes and Billy's dad loses his job, everything changes. Billy's forced to quit school and look for work to help support his family, and …

This is the story of 14-year-old John Bains and his sister Meg, 13, and the winter they spend working in alumber camp in the Ottawa Valley. Their father has been killed and they have to find work to support their family. After a long and adventurous trip, the two reach the camp to find it torn by tension between the forman and the lumbermen. Meg an …