A thirteen-year-old Jewish orphan reluctantly leaves her grandmother and immigrates to New York City, where she works for three years sewing lace and earning money to bring Grandmother to the United States, too.
Maggie, who writes stories, and her cousin Brette, who paints pictures, combine their talents to create the grandest present ever for their grandmother Nana's birthday.
Despite the doctor's warning that she is too frail, Samantha's grandmother zestfully joins her in a midnight raid on the kitchen, where they make fabulous ice cream sundaes and look at old photographs.