Through the first hald of the nineteenth century, on a self-sufficient iron plantation in the wilds of Western Pennsylvania, two people struggle to establish a life, disentangle an ill-conceived marriage, and make a success of a derelict furnace through the ups and downs of an unpredictable industry. First in the Juniata Iron Trilogy, The Furnace chronicles Ellie and Adam's efforts to find a balance and build an enterprise worthy of Pennsylvania's iron industry, producing Juniata Iron, the finest in the world.