Feeling that the arrival of a new baby has stopped her parents from loving her, Yoshiko goes to live among the cranes, whose magic transforms her into one of their young for a while.
After the end of the war in Vietnam, a young boy's grandfather dreams of restoring the wetlands of the Mekong delta, hoping that the large cranes that once lived there will return.
Left with his grandfather until his parents are settled in Detroit, Sammy learns to respect and love the old man as they care for an injured crane together.