A series of poems describes the lives of a family of dolls and their servants living in a dollhouse in a young girl's room, from the perspective of Emma, the oldest of the doll children.
When Nancy's sister draws on one of her dolls using permanent marker, Nancy is barely able to contain her anger. Their mother suggests a fancy doll party to lift Nancy's spirits, but Nancy soon discovers there is more doll drama waiting in the wings.
Throughout the twentieth century, Miss Kanagawa, one of fifty-eight dolls made to serve as ambassadors from Japan to the United States, travels the country learning to love while changing the lives of those who need her.
At Christmas time a beautiful ballerina doll who longs to dance is discovered in a toy store and coveted by two little girls: Ilyana, who wants to love her, and Mary Jane, who doesn't want Ilyana to get her.
