Lucia Santa came to New York from the mountain farms of Italy because she knew there had to be a better life. But what she finds in the streets of Hell's Kitchen is a life to break a strong woman's heart. Two tragic marriages, six children to support by herself, a fiery-hearted daughter who insists on living and loving as an American, an oldest son who gets involved with the mafia.

And through it all, Lucia Santa - wife, widow, mother, grandmother - endures as a woman of incomparable dignity, courage, and passion.