It is 1901. Marisia and her family flee Poland ahead of the czar's soldiers. But at Ellis Island, her sister and parents are turned away. Now Marisia and her brother, Stefan, must find their way in the New World alone. Marisia dreams of becoming an artist. Can she overcome the hardships of immigrant life on New York's Lower East Side, the struggle to find work, and the tyrannical views of those who would stand in her way? With only her wits, her talent, and her feisty spirit to guide her, she sets out to turn dream into reality.