In 1845, a mysterious blight attacked the potato crops in Ireland, destroying the only food of nearly six million people. Over the next five years, known today as the Great Irish Famine, one million people died from starvation and disease and two million more fled their homeland. Black Potatoes is the story of children and adults who suffered from starvation, disease and death, and the story of the heroes among the Irish people and how they held on to hope.