((http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/firstworldwar/ww-polish--jewish-refugees.jpg))

Reb and Shena have four daughters and although they share some beliefs each of their stories is different.

Bessie, the “old maid” of the family has always worked to bring in the majority of the household’s income and gave away every penny of her salary. Her role in the family is so great, in fact, that her father refuses to give her away to marriage, claiming he will lose money by doing so. When Bessie finally finds romance, the man is shunned and driven away by her father, sending Bessie into further misery. Eventually Reb makes Bessie marry a fish peddler who offers a hefty sum for marrying Bessie. She finds the man repulsive and only stays due to her affection for one of his children.

Masha, the beauty of the family, is a romantic in a world where there is little room for romance. He spends her free time buying and trying on new clothes for herself, and not much is required to make Masha happy. When she falls in love with a musician, Reb once again disapproves of him because the man chose to play the piano on Shabbat. Eventually Masha is also matched to a man she barely knows, an impostor diamond dealer. Fania, the third daughter, faces the same fate.  She too find love, and yes, again Reb disapproves of the poor poet and marries her off to a cloaks and suits salesman in Los Angeles.

Sara ((http://steadfastfinances.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Elementary-school-teacher-with-her-students.jpg))

Finally, Sara—the black swan—spends her entire life watching her sisters meet their inevitable fate, and she is determined not to meet the same end. Sara leaves home soon after Bessie is married off and lives alone in a tiny dirty room in New York, working by day and studying by night. She gets accepted into college and overcomes great adversity to get her teaching degree. Although Sara broke out of the mold of the typical Jewish girl, and made a life she has always wanted for herself, she still misses having a family and regrets having such poor relations with her father. At the end of the novel, she returns to her father and agrees to take care of him in old age. Years of living without an ounce of affection made her yearn for the love from her father which she never received.