Betty Smith

Brooklyn, the 1920s. Margy Shannon-- shy, eager, joyfully optimistic-- lives with her parents and has witnessed how a lifetime of work and poverty has worn them down. Unable to speak up to her overbearing mother, Margy takes refuge in dreams of finding a husband she loves, having children, and living in a nice home. When she meets Frankie Malone, she thinks at last her dreams might be fulfilled ... until a devastating tragedy forces Margy to stand...

"In Brooklyn's unforgiving urban jungle, Maggie Moore is torn between answering her own needs and catering to the desirous men who dominate her life. Confronted by her quarrelsome Irish immigrant father, the feckless lover who may become her husband, and others, Maggie must learn to navigate a cycle of loss, separation, and hope as she forges her own path toward happiness."--Page 4 of cover.