Growing up, all Andy Bryce knew about his great-grandfather was that he wrote the first health code in Canada, and he lived in a big house in Ottawa. All that changed the day Andy opened a box of family memorabilia. He discovered that his great-grandfather, Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce was the Chief Medical Health officer for the Department of Indian Affairs. In 1907 he reported on appalling health conditions in residential schools. His report was discredited by chief bureaucrat Duncan Campbell Scott, and Bryce was later relieved of his duties at Indian Affairs. Peter continued to lobby for better conditions for Indigenous people. He went on to write 'Story of a National Crime – An Appeal for Justice to the Indians of Canada'. 

Journalist and teacher Andy Bryce traces his great-grandfather's story, from his childhood in rural Ontario, to his mysterious death on a cruise ship. He finds a brilliant and complex man who spoke truth to power. We are left wondering how many other great stories are to be found stored in cardboard boxes and forgotten filing cabinets.