Life in the Kibera slum outside Nairobi is difficult for ten-year-old Safiyah, who makes money by selling items from the garbage dump. However, the stack of glossy magazines she finds inspires her to create a mural on the side of her tin shack that brings hope to her and her grandmother, Cucu.
After moving to a new school, fourteen-year-old Daria's need to stay connected to her old life via her cell phone and Facebook seems like addiction to her parents and new friends, but Daria doesn't see anything wrong until a serious problem arises.
Tansy's father arranges for a neighbor, Miss Stella, to care for Tansy after school while her mother is away. Miss Stella has no TV, computer, or car, and Tansy labels her as odd but discovers later that she has misjudged her completely.
