The Copper Children tells the story of possibly one of the largest single kidnapping cases in U.S. history; in which Irish immigrant children were removed from New York City and transported via orphan trains to Arizona to be adopted by Mexican American mining families who had suffered infertility and stillbirths as a result of air and water pollution from copper mining. While the Mexican American families were initially selected because they were Catholic, they were deemed unsuitable and the Irish children were instead placed with white, Protestant families. The Copper Children takes a sharp look at the collision of good intentions and bad behavior, blending humor, tragedy, joy and unsentimental social commentary.