Frank's father eventually found a job at a defence plant in Coventry, England, yet he sent money back to his struggling family in Ireland only once. As there were few jobs for women at the time, their mother was forced to ask for help from the Church and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Sometimes, Frank and his brothers scavenged for lumps of coal or peat turf for fuel or stole bread in order to survive. Angela's mother (a widow) and sister refused to help because they disapproved of her husband, mostly because he was from Northern Ireland.
In the damp, cold climate of Ireland, each child had only one set of ragged clothes, patched shoes, and lacked a coat. Frank developed typhoid and was hospitalized. Later, he got a job helping a neighbor who had leg problems; he delivered coal for the neighbor and as a result developed chronic conjunctivitis. The family was finally evicted after they took a hatchet to the walls of their rented home to burn for heat. The family was forced to move in with a distant relative who treated them very badly and eventually forced a sexual relationship on Frank's mother, Angela. As a teenager, Frank worked at the post office as a telegram delivery boy and later delivered newspapers and magazines for Eason's. He also worked for the local money lender, writing threatening demand letters as a means to save enough to finally realize his dream of returning to the United States. When the money lender died, he found her hidden money, and threw her ledger of debtors into the river. The story ends with Frank's sailing into Poughkeepsie, New York, ready to begin a new life at age nineteen.