Ginger Coffey (Robert Shaw) is an out-of-work Irish immigrant who moves to Montreal with his wife, Vera (Mary Ure), and teenage daughter, Paulie (Libby McClintock), in hopes of a better life. After six months, the family fortunes have not changed, and Vera and Paulie beg Ginger to return to Ireland. He lands a job as a proofreader with a newspaper, but Vera and Paulie move out when Vera realizes his 45 dollar-a-week paycheck will not suffice. Ginger quits his second job as a laundry-truck driver and pins all his hopes on becoming a reporter. Paulie comes back to live with him, but Ginger is fired at the paper and sinks deeper into alcoholism and depression.
~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide