City of Hope continues the story that began in Ellis Island (linked to my review). Ellie Hogan has returned to Ireland to her loving husband, John, adapting to his simple life on the farm. Yet Ellie has never quite let go of the life she lived in New York City, wearing current fashions, albeit toned down, and keeping up with New York society in the pages of Vanity Fair. She has also built up a small business empire with a secretarial school and hair salon in the neighboring town, in addition to the farm store. While Ellie knows that her love for John should be enough, in her heart she misses her old life and her old friends. Then Ellie is devastated by John’s sudden death, and the only way she knows how to cope is to flee back to New York, abandoning John’s mother, leaving the businesses to be run by her assistant, and hoping to find solace in the life she left behind.
Only New York City has changed greatly in her time away. The stock market crash has left many of her former friends penniless, and the city itself feels different. Bridie, the elderly woman who was in charge when Ellie worked for a socialite, is now working at a sweat shop. Sheila, her best friend, comes to visit from Boston, but abandons Ellie for two men at a nightclub. When Ellie stumbles across a group of shacks containing some homeless folks, she decides to use her considerable resources to help one of the families get back on their feet.
Ellie buys a run-down house in Yonkers, hires a day-laborer to fix it up, recruits Bridie as housekeeper, and takes in anyone who turns up on her doorstop. Eventually the women open a cafe while the men work on the other houses she’s purchased in exchange for rent, and Ellie has yet another business venture, this one a non-profit cooperative.
While on the outside it appears Ellie is doing all of this out of the goodness of her heart, she is also quite self-centered in her motivation and actions. She’s long stuck in the denial period of grief, running from her responsibilities in Ireland and insists everything must be done her way. She feels the people she is helping are not grateful enough and is disheartened when the men form a union. She also has to deal with gangsters, the return of the man she almost left her husband for, and Sheila turning up on her doorstep, and it’s not long before it’s all too much for her.
City of Hope is the second in a trilogy, and it very much has the feeling of a middle book. The ending is not quite a cliffhanger but it’s clear Ellie’s story is far from over. While the events of Ellis Island are referenced to serve as a reminder, I would recommend reading that book first to fully understand Ellie’s trials and tribulations.