The son of Indian immigrants born in America wants to fit in with fellow New Yorkers, but his family is unwilling to let go of their traditional ways.

An unforgettable portrait of immigrant life in a collection of four stories about love, hope, and loss: a day laborer paid to gather bricks from an abandoned lot meets a tragic end; a young man newly arrived from Mexico falls in love with a girl from his home village; a homeless puppeteer dreams of a better life for his daughter; and a seamstress is in desperate need of money to send home for her daughter's medical treatment.

"Lucia Santa come 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, and an oldest son who gets involved with the Mafia. And through it all, Lucia Santa--wife, widow, mother, grandmother--endures...