Sixteen-year-old Rose Nolan arrives on Ellis Island in 1911 in the hopes of starting a new life, but after most of her family is sent back to Ireland, she must find her own way in a new country and fend for herself and her younger sister.
After burning their Thanksgiving dinner, Ann and Ed head for the local cafe, where they are welcomed by an immigrant family into an unusual celebration that gives everyone cause to be thankful.
In the early years of the twentieth century, a Swedish family encounters separation and other hardships upon immigrating to New York City until the son is cast in a silent movie, in a picture book that evokes an actual silent movie.
