Twelve-year-old Carmen is caught in a major industrial disaster in Boston’s North End in 1919. A large metal tank filled with molasses ruptures, releasing a wave of thick syrup that moves through the streets. The flood destroys buildings, vehicles, and wagons, killing 21 people and injuring many others.

Carmen and her friend Tony are nearby when the tank begins to shake. Its curved sides “[bulge] in and out,” and bolts shoot through the air “like bullets fired from a machine gun” (6). The tank splits apart, sending metal fragments flying and releasing a dark mass of molasses that spreads rapidly through the neighborhood.

Carmen and Tony attempt to escape the flood, but the syrup catches them. The molasses wraps around Carmen’s legs “like millions of powerful snakes” (7), rising to her chest. They climb onto a broken wagon, but a large piece of metal strikes it, throwing Carmen back into the thick liquid. Tony calls her name as the molasses covers her completely, and the chapter ends with her being pulled beneath the surface.

Carmen and her friend Tony walk home from school through the busy streets of Boston. A newsboy calls out headlines about a “deadly flu” spreading through the city.