When Frankie's mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary, just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That's why she is not prepared for the day when he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. Now Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned to the orphanage, two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive. And as the embers of the Great Depression are kindled into the fires of World War II, and as the shadows of injustice, poverty, and death walk the streets in broad daylight, Frankie must find something worth holding on to in the ruins of this shattered America, every minute of every day spent wondering if the life she is able to carve out will be enough.