In 1918, Winkler explodes from a community of thirteen helpful souls to a crowded coal mining town of strangers with divided loyalties. War in faraway Europe means more money in the pockets of May Rose and her friends, but as a new wife and mother she feels cut off from people and community events. And though mine owners like her husband are making money hand over fist, the workers' poverty and resentment threaten trouble when the war ends. Before that happens, the town will be struck by an epidemic, and May Rose and the women who've helped each other through desperate times will face challenges as divisive and deadly as war.

In 1918, Winkler explodes from a community of thirteen helpful souls to a crowded coal mining town of strangers with divided loyalties. War in faraway Europe means more money in the pockets of May Rose and her friends, but as a new wife and mother she feels cut off from people and community events. And though mine owners like her husband are making money hand over fist, the workers' poverty and resentment threaten trouble when the war ends. Before that happens, the town will be struck by an epidemic, and May Rose and the women who've helped each other through desperate times will face challenges as divisive and deadly as war.