America promised her a new life and a new love. Can she be true to her heritage and to the boy she loves? It is 1910 and 16-year-old Rachel Roth and her family are immigrants from Poland to America. When Rachel sees the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, she catches her breath. The magnificent statue seems to promise her a better life.

While life in bustling New York City turns out to be hard, Rachel is happy with her new country and her job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Unaware that a tragedy at the factory is about to happen, Rachel thrives on the admiration of handsome Joshua Fine, who wants a traditional home with her by his side. But when Rachel meets Nathan Meyers, an energetic reporter who loves her and wants her to be as modern, as American, as he is, Rachel is uncertain. To be American, must she give up her past? Will her heritage, or her heart, determine the boy she loves?