Answer:
Forged by Fire begins with three-year-old Gerald Nickelby, an African-American boy living in a poor neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has learned to fear his mother, Monique, who uses drugs. She both physically abuses the boy and neglects him, leaving him home alone for hours and sometimes days. One day, when she goes out to score some drugs, Gerald finds her cigarette lighter and plays with it. He ends up accidentally setting fire to the apartment.
Monique is sent to jail over the incident, and Gerald is sent to live with his Aunt Queen, who treats him very well. For six years, Gerald is happy, despite being very poor. But, Monique shows up on his tenth birthday, out of prison and with a husband and daughter. When Aunt Queen dies soon after, Gerald goes to live with Monique and her new family.