Pennsylvania, 1859

Liam Quinn worries about Paddy, his frail younger brother, working in the breaker -- one of the dirtiest, most exhausting jobs in the mine. But without the money Paddy earns, they'll never be able to send for their younger sisters and be a complete family again.

It's a dream come true when Paddy finally escapes the breaker and gets hired as a trapper -- but then he gets sick. Rory Hamilton, the Quinn's landlady's daughter, comes up with a daring plan to keep Paddy's job open -- if she can overcome her dread of the mines that killed her father and brother. Just going underground tests Rory's courage. How will she survive when a cave-in traps her and Liam in the dustfilled air and unrelenting darkness of the mine?