When Jennifer Beecham decides to call it quits with her philandering husband, she heads south to her grandparents' house, to discover her family's past. Through their memories, Jennifer is able to piece together the story of her ancestors. Beginning with a tale about an exiled Irishman who killed a priest, the history continues with Randall, the gambler who lost the family's fortune, and the rebellious Wilcox who joined the railroad the way another man might have joined the circus. Ambitious in scope, lucid and gripping, Random Descent is not only a history of one family, but also of western Canada.