In the traditionally Irish-American working-class neighbourhood of South Boston, MA, a new kind of building has taken shape. From wheat board cabinetry to recycled steel, bamboo flooring to dual-flush toilets, the McAllen building is something different: a leader in the emerging field of environmentally friendly design. Boston's steel-toed union workers, however, are not sure that they like it. When things on the building start to go wrong, the young developer has to keep the project from unravelling. Building Boston's first LEED Gold-certified building turns out to be harder than anyone thought. Yet among the I-beams and brickwork emerges a small cadre of unlikely environmentalists who come to connect their work with the future of their children.