First published 1988
The mining camps of West Virginia erupt in violence as workers walk off their jobs. Native-born miners stand alongside recent immigrants, facing off against company owners who bring in Baldwin guards and strikebreakers to crush their movement. Over the course of twenty-four hours, tensions that have simmered for months explode into open conflict. The strike forces together an unlikely cast: coal company supervisors caught between loyalty and conscience, desperate men willing to cross picket lines for wages, and families torn apart by economic necessity. As the day unfolds, romantic relationships strain under the pressure of divided loyalties. Some miners find themselves branded as traitors by their own communities. The confrontation builds toward a violent climax that will leave some dead and others forever changed. In this single day, the fundamental conflicts between labor and capital, between survival and solidarity, play out with devastating consequences for everyone involved.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, labor
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: divided-loyalties, found-family
Setting: West Virginia
Period: 20th-century
400 pages · Paperback · Scribner
Content warnings: violence