There is a perfect storm undermining something important about America: the opportunity for people born into poverty to advance over their lifetimes.

This book explores how to unleash opportunity in five key areas: early childhood, the graduation gap, foster care, juvenile justice, and predatory lending. For each issue Gerson explores the magnitude of the problem, Summers applies a theological framework for considering solutions, and Thompson tells the story of men and women who have journeyed through these issues.

Social mobility has become increasingly stalled in America...