The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, is among the most infamous fires in history. In minutes, 146 garment workers -mostly young Italian and Jewish girls died. Some burnt alive, many jumped to their deaths to escape the flames.

Michael Kelly is a young Irish Catholic firefighter in love with a Russian Jewish girl named Irena. Their love is deep and unbreakable; it is also impossible. His family disapproves of a marriage with a “Jew.” Her family threatens to disown her if she continues to see a gentile. Michael dreams of taking her away, away from racism, away from poverty, and mostly away from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Irena is locked inside the hellish building 14 hours a day, it’s stifling in the summer and freezing in the winter, and the air is clogged with lint dust. The work is hard and Irena is paid near slave wages. Worse, she fears for her life. Her support of unionization has put a target on her back.

The couple’s worse nightmare happens on March 25 when Irena smells smoke. Michael will fight the ensuing inferno in a desperate attempt to save Irena. Trapped in unbearable heat and choking smoke, Irena will do what she can to escape a horrible death.