Just turned twelve, Lily is the oldest of the three children in her Chinese American family living in San Francisco when the 1906 earthquake hits; her family has survived the quake, but as the city starts to burn Lily and her younger brother are separated from the others and must get to the safety of Oakland across the bay and hope that the rest of their family and friends are there waiting for them--but between the fire and the anti-Chinese violence...

Ten-year-old Leo loves being a newsboy in San Francisco -- not only does he get to make some money to help his family, he's free to explore the amazing, hilly city as it changes and grows with the new century. Horse-drawn carriages share the streets with shiny new automobiles, new businesses and families move in every day from everywhere, and anything seems possible. But early one spring morning, everything changes. Leo's world is shaken -- literally...

Eight-year-old Henry and nine-year-old Chin love to read about heroes in popular "penny dreadful" novels, until they both witness real courage while trying to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

"A Leo, de diez anos, le gusta ser vendedor de periodicos en San Francisco: no solo gana dinero para ayudar a su familia, sino que tambien es libre de explorar la asombrosa ciudad, a medida que esta cambia y crece con el nuevo siglo. Los carruajes tirados por caballos comparten las calles con automoviles brillantes, hay muchos nuevos negocios y llegan familias a asentarse en la ciudad diariamente. Es un lugar en el que todo parece posible. Pero, una...