After Batya's Russian Jewish family is forced to leave their home and move to the United States, Batya finds herself hoping she can finally achieve her dream of following in her father's footsteps as a woodcarver. But she soon finds herself miserable in New York as her father can't find work and she struggles to learn English. To make matters even worse, girls are still barred from woodcarving in America as well, and Batya's frustrations lead her to start skipping school. She soon discovers a woodcarving shop where they carve beautiful carousel horses. When her school informs her parents of her absences, Batya comes clean and convinces the shop class teacher to let her join.