As the book begins, the reader is introduced to Perkins’ early life as an advocate for social justice and her relationships with Sinclair Lewis, Mary Harriman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Al Smith and FDR.

She is determined to create better living and working conditions for immigrant women and children. Her passion, conviction, dedication and persistence predicted her success.  As for being a woman, she said, “Being a woman has only bothered me in climbing trees.”

The importance of politics and political connections is magnified at the New York state legislature in Albany as she advocates for a 54 hour work week for women and becomes the voice of the work force. In 1911 she witnesses the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the death of 146 young women, and this experience further sparks her goal to implement workplace safety standards.

This quote from the Library Journal describes the book as, “a fictionalized (well researched) portrayal of a phenomenal woman who has largely been lost to history.”