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Book Three: The Promise Trilogy
New York, 1919. The raids have started. The chairs in her classroom are going empty.
Lucie Santoro has already lost her engagement, her standing in the neighborhood, and the safety that comes with silence. Now federal agents are sweeping through immigrant communities, and her students — the men and women she taught English, citizenship, constitutional rights — are disappearing overnight.
When the Henry Street Settlement is shut down and converted to a flu ward, Lucie loses her classroom. But she refuses to stop. What begins in tenement kitchens — Italian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, and Irish women sharing soup and information across language barriers — grows into something no one a women's auxiliary running supply lines, medical cooperatives, rent strikes, and emergency funds across East Harlem, the Lower East Side, and the waterfront.
A labor lawyer tells her to keep writing. A union organizer says her evidence could save lives — or end hers. An agent named Foley watches from the sidewalk with an open notebook.
On Thanksgiving morning, Lucie stands on a makeshift platform at Pier 54, speaking to five thousand dockworkers and their families — with federal agents in the crowd, her brother beside her, and a Tribune photographer capturing every word.
The cost is real. Friends are beaten. Allies are deported. The family she loves may not forgive what she's become. And the question she's been circling all autumn finally demands an answer — not as philosophy, but as a woman standing above a harbor with the whole city watching.
Who do you become when you can no longer return to who you were?
The Book Three concludes Sherilyn Decter's acclaimed trilogy of a young Italian-American woman's transformation from dutiful daughter to movement builder in the volatile aftermath of World War I. Set against the 1919 Red Scare, the Palmer Raids, the Great Steel Strike, and the flu pandemic, this is a story of exile, belonging, and the courage it takes to build something new when the old world can no longer hold you.
For readers of Lisa Wingate, Kristin Hannah, and Fiona Davis — and anyone who loves historical fiction where women refuse to stay small.
Lucie Santoro has already lost her engagement, her standing in the neighborhood, and the safety that comes with silence. Now federal agents are sweeping through immigrant communities, and her students — the men and women she taught English, citizenship, constitutional rights — are disappearing overnight.
When the Henry Street Settlement is shut down and converted to a flu ward, Lucie loses her classroom. But she refuses to stop. What begins in tenement kitchens — Italian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, and Irish women sharing soup and information across language barriers — grows into something no one a women's auxiliary running supply lines, medical cooperatives, rent strikes, and emergency funds across East Harlem, the Lower East Side, and the waterfront.
A labor lawyer tells her to keep writing. A union organizer says her evidence could save lives — or end hers. An agent named Foley watches from the sidewalk with an open notebook.
On Thanksgiving morning, Lucie stands on a makeshift platform at Pier 54, speaking to five thousand dockworkers and their families — with federal agents in the crowd, her brother beside her, and a Tribune photographer capturing every word.
The cost is real. Friends are beaten. Allies are deported. The family she loves may not forgive what she's become. And the question she's been circling all autumn finally demands an answer — not as philosophy, but as a woman standing above a harbor with the whole city watching.
Who do you become when you can no longer return to who you were?
The Book Three concludes Sherilyn Decter's acclaimed trilogy of a young Italian-American woman's transformation from dutiful daughter to movement builder in the volatile aftermath of World War I. Set against the 1919 Red Scare, the Palmer Raids, the Great Steel Strike, and the flu pandemic, this is a story of exile, belonging, and the courage it takes to build something new when the old world can no longer hold you.
For readers of Lisa Wingate, Kristin Hannah, and Fiona Davis — and anyone who loves historical fiction where women refuse to stay small.
- GenresHistorical
707 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 3, 2026
About the author
Sherilyn Decter
26 books53 followersSherilyn Decter writes emotionally rich historical fiction about strong, determined women navigating the shadows of Prohibition-era America. Whether uncovering secrets in speakeasies or confronting legacy in Little Italy, her stories blend meticulous research with unforgettable characters. She is the author of the Bootleggers’ Chronicles, Rum Runners’ Chronicles, Moonshiner Mysteries, The Promise Trilogy, and Legacy Letters, a serialized fiction project delivered directly to readers.
Inspired by authors like Kristin Hannah, Fiona Davis, and Rhys Bowen, Sherilyn Decter brings untold women’s stories to life with rich detail and emotional depth.
Learn more at sherilyndecter.com.
Inspired by authors like Kristin Hannah, Fiona Davis, and Rhys Bowen, Sherilyn Decter brings untold women’s stories to life with rich detail and emotional depth.
Learn more at sherilyndecter.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 9, 2026
Lucie grew up in a fairly sheltered neighbourhood. As in many areas, the population in any particular city seems to be divided into ethnic groups, and they often do not interact regularly. She was under surveillance from those around her from her youth. She was raised to meet expectations and uphold the family name and reputation.
Lucie strains at these restrictions as she navigates her path into the adult world. Her desire for independence is completely at odds with her parents and community expectations. Her betrothed does not understand her wish for more, although he also has wishes and unfulfilled desires that lie trapped inside his parents’ expectations.
Receiving a temporary placement as a teacher at a school for immigrant workers, to teach them English and enough information to pass their Citizenship tests shows her just how much she wishes to continue teaching. Like many good teachers, her involvement and interest of the students does not end at the classroom door, and she gets personally affected and involved with the stories that each life represents.
During her involvement, she writes stories of how the women of the families band together to create a support network where Government and Agencies fail to provide assistance. She shares these with a newspaper journalist, who assures her that all will remain anonymous. She learns too late that many people do not treat trust as she does, and she is betrayed from various directions.
Basically, she is alone. The words she has taught her students to trust have become meaningless, although she has been raised to believe that the Government would stand behind the Constitution that it required new citizens to learn. However, the same Government sent agents to sit in her classroom and hear how fluent and knowledgeable her students were becoming, so as to accuse them of illegal meetings and acts; resulting in the deportation of some.
She is becoming not only mistrusting of the Acts she is teaching, but also of the Agents who keep approaching her for more information about her actions and those of her students. She is tired. She is trying to be strong. She is trying to support her students' families. All these are true, and remain in conflict inside her as she strives to go on, while also enduring the near abandonment of her family.
This is a difficult story to read, as one can see so many similarities through the years, up to the present time. There has never been a time when those in authority use their power to coerce and invluence those who they think can be manipulated by identifying some weakness. A reader may have to take the time to read slowly and carefully, to squeeze out the meaning and situations, while keeping their emotions in check.
Oh, I wanted so desperately for certain situations to have ended differently. That is the beauty of this writing. It doesn't have to have a cheerful ending to be impactful and insightful. The author has done the hard work of research combined with the insertion of characters to bring out the facts without making it into simply a dry, flat narrative. The characters are well developed and bring the story to life.
Lucie strains at these restrictions as she navigates her path into the adult world. Her desire for independence is completely at odds with her parents and community expectations. Her betrothed does not understand her wish for more, although he also has wishes and unfulfilled desires that lie trapped inside his parents’ expectations.
Receiving a temporary placement as a teacher at a school for immigrant workers, to teach them English and enough information to pass their Citizenship tests shows her just how much she wishes to continue teaching. Like many good teachers, her involvement and interest of the students does not end at the classroom door, and she gets personally affected and involved with the stories that each life represents.
During her involvement, she writes stories of how the women of the families band together to create a support network where Government and Agencies fail to provide assistance. She shares these with a newspaper journalist, who assures her that all will remain anonymous. She learns too late that many people do not treat trust as she does, and she is betrayed from various directions.
Basically, she is alone. The words she has taught her students to trust have become meaningless, although she has been raised to believe that the Government would stand behind the Constitution that it required new citizens to learn. However, the same Government sent agents to sit in her classroom and hear how fluent and knowledgeable her students were becoming, so as to accuse them of illegal meetings and acts; resulting in the deportation of some.
She is becoming not only mistrusting of the Acts she is teaching, but also of the Agents who keep approaching her for more information about her actions and those of her students. She is tired. She is trying to be strong. She is trying to support her students' families. All these are true, and remain in conflict inside her as she strives to go on, while also enduring the near abandonment of her family.
This is a difficult story to read, as one can see so many similarities through the years, up to the present time. There has never been a time when those in authority use their power to coerce and invluence those who they think can be manipulated by identifying some weakness. A reader may have to take the time to read slowly and carefully, to squeeze out the meaning and situations, while keeping their emotions in check.
Oh, I wanted so desperately for certain situations to have ended differently. That is the beauty of this writing. It doesn't have to have a cheerful ending to be impactful and insightful. The author has done the hard work of research combined with the insertion of characters to bring out the facts without making it into simply a dry, flat narrative. The characters are well developed and bring the story to life.
September 29, 2026
book three: The Promise
Boy what a story! I wasn’t ready it to end. Book three was exciting. So much was happening to Lucy to herself and her world. Her emotions, her thinking, her realizations of what she had committed herself to in helping others. She sees the injustices that the workers are living through and how the system she taught them is letting them down. This whole story is very well written. It makes one think how our country developed and treated those that really did come for a better life and wanted to be Americans but also wanted fair treatment. The whole trilogy is very well written.
Boy what a story! I wasn’t ready it to end. Book three was exciting. So much was happening to Lucy to herself and her world. Her emotions, her thinking, her realizations of what she had committed herself to in helping others. She sees the injustices that the workers are living through and how the system she taught them is letting them down. This whole story is very well written. It makes one think how our country developed and treated those that really did come for a better life and wanted to be Americans but also wanted fair treatment. The whole trilogy is very well written.
September 13, 2026
Another brilliant book in this trilogy, sometimes hard to read about the awful things that happen to people, and know it's not just in the past. But Decter kept her promise and made this a brilliant end to a great trilogy. The depth of the historical research takes my breath away, yet this was woven into the story so that you don't realise it was anything other than Lucie's fictional story and the story of the other characters. This is a trilogy that is going to resonate with readers for years to come.
September 26, 2026
This continues the story of Lucie Santoro, set in New York, and involving the immigrant communities. Lucie is an extraordinary brave and resourceful young woman. Lucie comes from an Italian family and is a gifted teacher. This book tells of her problems with the authorities who are clamping down on so called agitators and rebels who are causing trouble at their places of work. This affects the immigrants that Lucie has been teaching. A number of strong women are involved in this story. There are some dangerous scenes and the relationship between Lucie and ‘ bad boy’ Dante also plays a part. I found this to be a very interesting read, I appreciated the amount of research done by the author. It also focuses on the family, the different communities and how they work together. I would say to read the three books in order as they provide good background information, gradually leading to the finale. A great read! I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Legacy Earned
This final chapter in the triology was fierce and pinoneering. It depicted how success was earned not given. Although a little wordy in the middle, it was thoroughly satisfying end to a brilliant story that weaves fiction with facts. I simply had to know where Lucie would end up. Highly recommend.
This final chapter in the triology was fierce and pinoneering. It depicted how success was earned not given. Although a little wordy in the middle, it was thoroughly satisfying end to a brilliant story that weaves fiction with facts. I simply had to know where Lucie would end up. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews