In 1909, Malka Kaminsky flees Russia and an arranged marriage, arriving in New York hungry for freedom. Malka joins a sweatshop strike and is nearly beaten by thugs, but a stranger and fellow Russian Jew, Yaakov Rogovin, rescues her. When chance brings Yaakov to her Sabbath table, they laugh and trade warm glances—only to deny their mutual attraction. But as they strive to become entrepreneurs, they hope that independence will show them how to live unafraid, despite the past.