Like any other eight-year-old, Ting has lots to complain about: too much homework, boring lessons, having to live with her annoying cousin. And missing her parents, of course. She's in China, they're far away in Canada, and she wishes they would come home right away.

Suddenly, Ting's life is turned upside down by fighting in a place called Tiananmen Square. Now she's with her parents again--but in a new country, in a city called Vancouver, where everything is strange. Her cousin doesn't bother her anymore, but "home" is a tiny, bare apartment with only a ratty sofa for Ting to sleep on. There's less homework and classes aren't boring--but Ting can barely understand a word her teachers and classmates are saying.

Ting got her wish, but in an unexpected way. Now she has another--to belong. What will it take for her new wish to come true?