Kirsten Larson and her family arrive in America in 1854, after a long sea voyage. Everything looks so different from the life Kirsten knew back in Sweden-the ways people talk and dress seem strange! Getting lost in a big city and parting with her best friend only add to Kirsten's worry. Will she ever feel at home here? It is only when the Larsons arrive at a tiny farm on the edge of the frontier that Kirsten believes Papa's promise-America will be a land filled with opportunity for them all.