Hanna Edmunds is 14 years old in April 1880. She and her father have just arrived at the newly built railroad town of LaForge in the United States’ Dakota Territory. As Hanna’s mother was an immigrant from China and Hanna’s father is a white man, Hanna is a multiracial girl. Many townspeople in LaForge have racist views of Asian immigrants, and their bias against Hanna forms a foundation of conflict for her as soon as she arrives. Mama died when Hanna was 11 and Hanna misses her always, but especially wishes Mama were still alive to help her to navigate conversations with Papa, as he is short-tempered and often easily angered.

Hanna’s goal in the first half of the story is to go to school with other students. After years of instruction from Mama, Miss Lorna, and Hanna herself, she progressed through the Fifth Level reader. Hanna’s ability to withstand the stares, comments, and reactions from the white students speaks to her strong spirit and her resilience. Her ability to graduate early with minimal preparation shows her intelligence and hard-working attitude.

Hanna’s focus in the second half of the story is gaining the position of dressmaker for the shop. Mama taught Hanna to sew before she died, and Hanna harbors a secret goal to work as a dressmaker in the dress goods shop her father plans to open in LaForge.