Dorothea Sinclair has left her small home town in Maine and come to Boston to begin a career as a newspaper reporter. But so far her job on the Guardian has proved disappointing. More skivvy than reporter, she's even been subjected to a humiliating proposition from the chief editor's son. She needs a break but never expects it might come from a chance meeting with an Irish ruffian. There's a great deal of injustice in Boston, and O'Hare, embroiled in his fight for equality on behalf of Boston's Irish, is well aware of it. When he rescues Dorothea's hat on the waterfront, he's surprised to learn she's a reporter. And when she offers him the opportunity to state his case in the Guardian, what can he do but accept? It's the perfect chance to put his dreams into his own words—and the only sure way to see her again.