Bella, newly arrived in New York City from Calia, Italy, has come to America to earn money for her family. After the death of her father, she, her mother, her sister, and her brothers have not been able to buy food. She gets a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. There, along with 500 other immigrants, she works long hours at a grueling job under terrible conditions. Yetta, a coworker from Russia, has been crusading for a trade union. When factory conditions worsen, workers rise up in a strike. Jane, a runaway daughter of a wealthy businessman, who later works as a governess for Mr. Blanck, learns of the workers and becomes involved with their cause. Bella and Yetta are at work and Jane is visiting the factory on March 25, 1911, when a spark ignites piles of cloth 125 layers thick, being ready to use when they come back to work on the following Monday, and the building is engulfed in fire, leading to one of the worst workplace disasters in history. In the end, only Bella lives. Jane was burned alive and Yetta and her friend, Jacob, jumped from the eighth floor, through the nets at the bottom, and died. Bella survived by going onto the roof and climbing to a nearby building and out their exit. Bella, being the only one who survived, is now able to tell of the story of her friends to her two daughters, Yetta and Jane.
Correlation to historic events
This book tells the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. On March 25th, 1911, a small fire started and quickly spread from shirtwaist to shirtwaist, shortly engulfing the whole factory. The events of this fire are directly said in the novel.
Characters
; Bella: A girl from Calia, Italy. She left Italy to go to America so she can make money to send to her family to buy food. She worked at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. ; Yetta: A girl that traveled from Russia with her sister, Rahel. Both sisters are Jewish and activists trying to make money to bring their family to America. ; Mr. Corrigan: Chauffeur of the Wellington family. Sort of a father figure to Jane. ; Jacob: A cutter at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory who fancies Yetta. ; Rocco: One of the Luciano children who likes Bella. ; Signor Carlotti: Manager at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory who later develops a liking for Bella. ; Harriet: One of Mr. & Mrs. Blanck's daughters. A girl who wonders about the main story. ; Miss Milhouse: Jane's governess, who is disliked by her. ; Jane: The girl who takes care of Harriet and her sister, Millicent.
