Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s. La promesa de una nueva y mejor vida impulsa a Lyddie a viajar a la ciudad de Lowell, en Massachusetts.

Eleven-year-old Gilly Hopkins has had to change foster homes many times and longs for the day when her mother, Courtney, finally comes for her.