Set against the backdrop of Depression-era Seattle, 12-year-old William
Eng, a Chinese-American boy, has lived at Seattle's Sacred Heart
Orphanage ever since his mother's listless body was carried away from
their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday William and the
other orphans are taken to the theatre, where William glimpses an
actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost.
Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his
mother, Liu Song. Determined to find Willow, and prove his mother is
still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend
Charlotte. The pair navigates the streets of Seattle, where they must
not only survive, but confront the mysteries of William's past and his
connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however,
is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees
onscreen.