Margaret Gordon is born around the year 1800 on Prince Edward Island, a British colony under the shadow of her grandfather's shameful political misdeeds and actions, leaving the Island's settlers caught in an unjust landholding system and voiceless against entitlement and greed. Unfortunately, her father is little better, whisking her away to Scotland when she is just a girl to escape the consequences of his own wrongdoing. Still, despite growing up on another continent, Margaret never forgets where she came from, nor her desire to return one day and make up for the sins of her family.

During her absence from Prince Edward Island, the battle for fairness continues. Settlers and tenant farmers, like John LeLacheur, spend years fighting for the right to own the land they work so hard to clear and to have a say in how their colony is governed. Opposing them, however, are wealthy British aristocrats in London and their self-interested land agents, like Hellfire Jack Stewart, who do everything in their power to maintain the status quo and benefit from the labour of others.

The Governor's Granddaughter tells a fascinating story of resilience, perseverance, female empowerment, and conflicting moral values. This sweeping story is lifted from the pages of Canadian history, detailing the social and political unrest that existed for generations following the colonization of Prince Edward Island, with a focus not only on the people who pushed for much-needed fairness and change but also revealing those who worked even harder to hold them back.