Unsettled about not wanting to return to Napoli, Dom walks home. When Pietro does not return by midnight, Dom and Gaetano search for him until dawn. As the day progresses, the boys sell sandwiches, and Dom worries that Pietro went to help the other boys enslaved by the padrone. Dom approaches the new boy playing the triangle, but instead of answering Dom’s questions, the boy just plays his instrument louder. When Dom suggests going to Crosby Street to find Pietro, Gaetano punches his friend, screaming through tears that if Dom goes there, he will wind up dead. After that, they barely speak.

Later, Dom slips away to Crosby Street and eventually finds the right building. However, Pietro’s padrone arrives and locks him inside an apartment. There, a boy lies on the floor tied to an iron ring on the wall. Dom demands to know where Pietro is and insists that the boys already repaid their debts. 

After Dom calls him a criminal, the padrone lunges in a rage and grabs Dom. He whips the boy and ties him with a rope to an iron ring. When the padrone leaves, Dom convinces the boy to untie him, and then Dom uses a knife to cut the rope, so the boy will not get in trouble later. Dom sees blood on the knife, and he finds one of Pietro’s shoes. The other boy admits that the padrone beat Pietro to death. 

Distraught and unable to convince the boy to leave, Dom finds Pietro’s other shoe and stumbles downstairs in pain from the injuries the padrone inflicted upon him. As he falls outside, he hears voices calling his name and shoes approaching. Dom blacks out before he can tell them to get Pietro’s shoes.

Dom feels responsible for Pietro’s death because it was his idea for the boy to escape; despite this, no one reproaches Dom. In fact, Grandinetti reports the padrone to the police and helps Gaetano run the sandwich business while Dom’s wounds heal. Everyone, including Signora Esposito, is upset about Pietro’s death. Lying in the apartment with ice on his back, Dom regrets that he cannot write Pietro’s aunt because he does not know the boy’s last name or her address.

Once Dom can dress without pain, he visits the Polish butcher, Witold, and learns that Gaetano has continued to buy meat from him. Dom asks if he can attend synagogue with the butcher, and the man invites Dom to dinner with his family that evening. Despite feeling like he does not belong, Dom is embraced by Witold’s family. His wife gives him a sweater, and Witold places a yarmulke on Dom’s head. At the synagogue, although Dom does not understand much of the service, he cries, begging for forgiveness. 

Over time, Dom heals physically and even though he feels out of place at the Eastern European synagogue, he acknowledges that what matters is that he feels Jewish inside. When he explains this to Witold, the man says “Shalom,” which means peace (234). Dom finally understands that he has been conflicted for a long time and that he will not return to Napoli. Furthermore, he admits that his mother did put him on the ship alone. He belongs here, in New York with his friends who have become like family.

The business grows, and they hire other boys to help. When they become frustrated because some of the boys steal from them, Grandinetti pushes Gaetano and Dom to give them more responsibility. They decide to ask two other boys to become partners as they get another cart and sell more sandwiches. 

As Christmas approaches, Dom thinks of his upcoming 10th birthday and is reminded of Napoli when he sees vendors selling nativity scenes on Mulberry Street. Many things remind him of his family, especially his mother. On Christmas Eve, Dom buys a new pair of shoes for himself because the old ones are too small. Thinking of how much those original shoes helped him and vowing to fight against padrones in honor of Pietro, he sees people inside a building learning English. He hands his old shoes to a boy outside and promises to get an education. Feeling content, Dom arrives home to Signora Esposito making his favorite dish for his birthday. She smiles and hums as he kisses her cheek.