Her dad, Noah Merkel, was a great man. Even though Joanne’s mother had passed away, Noah did the best he could to give Joanne the best childhood she could possibly have.

But in 1870, France and Germany decided to fight each other. Joanne’s homeland was not safe anymore. She and her dad decided to sail across the ocean to Chicago, America - the land of opportunity.

The factory job for Joanne and Noah felt very heavy, ashes and smoke are everywhere, the machine noise is annoying, the boss shouts continuously, and the people work tirelessly for their dreams.

The city leaders only care about how popular they are and pay no attention to how hard life was for ordinary families. Of course, this action angered many people, and so they decided to stand up against them.

One day in 1886, Joanne comes home and puzzles as to where her father is. She goes back to the factory and overhears that he is going to Haymarket with his co-workers to do something. Joanne decided to be patient and waited at home.

Unfortunately, her patient did not pay off. Noah appears in the newspaper in the next few days, someone throws a bomb during the meeting, and the guard blames Noah for this, leaving Joanne all alone.

Poor Joanne, without her father, she could no longer afford her room. She has to keep walking aimlessly in the street to find something to eat and her lovely smile is now full of sadness, with no one there to comfort her.

Then, a kind lady named Mrs. Jane Doe lent her a helping hand, walked Joanne into a warm house, which includes many people in similar circumstances, and gave her all she needed.

Here, Joanne meets Giorno, a Catholic Italian boy who seeks a better life in America, even though some people were mean to him because of his religion. But Giorno believes that everyone will change if they let God guide them.

Joanne and Giorno then meet Xiao, a Chinese boy who is trying to show his kindness to everyone he meets, in a country where not even the country welcomed him. Together, they form an unbreakable team of best friends.