The time is one of second generations and of transitions in this dirt-poor mining town. The central character is Mala, orphaned daughter of a local hero and an 'outsider' mother who died under mysterious circumstances. Mala has been raised by her widowed grandmother, whose death sets in motion a series of events that forever alters the course of her life.
Left in the care of an entire street of women – miners' widows with their covered dishes, gossip and stories – Mala eagerly absorbs the history of these émigrés and learns their traditions. Urged by her aunt Anna, monarch of the family clan to join the household, Mala is instead drawn to her rebellious cousin, Josie, Anna’s daughter, who is eager to leave the confines of this western ghetto.
As Mala sorts through her choices, she bears witness to significant changes occurring in town, changes that threaten the fragile peace between the immigrant families living on 6th Street and the long established bosses and merchants residing above Main. Matters are brought to a head when a new Sheriff arrives in town, and when Josie is about to leave the community for college. Mala must learn to integrate her own and her town's history while piecing together a possible future for herself.
