The Five Redheads tells the story of the Maloney sisters, born in Cincinnati in the tumultuous 20th century, and follows them from the unlimited potential of birth to the regrets and satisfactions of middle age. As young children their lives and personalities are most influenced by their mother's extreme conservatism and their father's gambling habit, but, as they grow, their lives and the choices they make are influenced more by economic and political events. As they wend their way through the labyrinth of life, the sisters rely on each other and their tight-knit extended family for guidance and support. As events unfold, each sister's personality is revealed through conversations: Theresa, the leader; Bernadette, the intellectual; Ellen, the dreamer; Lucille, the worker; and Margery Ann, the manipulator; and each sister brings her own characteristics and unique perspective to the changing role of women in the twentieth century.