The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While 16-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his older brother, Gig, dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. Enter Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar and introduces the brothers to a far more dangerous creature: a mining magnate determined to keep his wealth and his hold on Ursula.

Doubting Gig’s idealism, Rye finds herself drawn to a brave 19-year-old activist and feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. But a storm is coming, threatening to engulf them all, and Rye will be forced to decide her position. Is it enough to win the occasional battle, even if you can’t win the fight?

Featuring an unforgettable cast that includes cops and tramps, rights activists and socialists, ladies and murderers, The Cold Millions is an epic adventure. of a “writer who has firmly established himself in the ranks of America’s leading authors” (Boston Globe).

This is an engaging story of another era of political turmoil, haves and have nots. The narration was excellent. The characters were somewhat melodramatic but became more engaging as the story unfolds.