Cat Cleary is a sixteen-year-old Irish 'slummy' arriving in Liverpool to seek and make her fortune. Joe Calligan, a young steam-packet deckhand, think she's the loveliest girl he's ever seen and hasn't the heart to tell her that Liverpool is full of people tramping the streets looking for work. And then Cat sees the White Empress, the huge luxury liner. In that moment her ambition is born - to be chief stewardess on the world's great liner. In spite of her poverty, her lack of education, her family background, Cat Cleary sets about realising her incredible dream.
