In New York Bay, near Manhattan, sits Ellis Island. From 1892 until 1943, this island was the focus of the dreams of millions of immigrants. It served as the foremost receiving station for people from around the world who arrived in the United States by boat, looking for a new life in America. This American Diaries book tells the fictional story of one immigrant family from Ireland --- Nell Dunne, her mother, grandmother, brother, and baby sister. The tale begins on February 12, 1904 --- the day, after three weeks at sea, when Nell sees the lights of New York City on the horizon. And the story ends just two days later.

Nell's father has been in New York for two years. All that time he sent money back to his family in Ireland so they could join him. He also sent them careful instructions about what to expect from the trip, especially when they get to Ellis Island. He told Nell's brother Patrick, who is almost 16, to watch out for everybody. And he told Nell to take care of her grandmother. Granny Rose is old, forgetful, and easily confused. The officers at Ellis Island can refuse to accept anybody they decide is not fit to enter the United States. If they won't let Granny Rose in, they'll send her back to Ireland, and Nell will have to go back with her.

It is bitterly cold when the ship carrying Nell and her family arrives in New York Harbor, and they have to wait in a cattle pen on the dock with hundreds of other people for the ferry to take them to Ellis Island. They wait so long that one man freezes to death. When they get to Ellis Island, they have to protect themselves from pickpockets and men who prey upon the immigrants to steal their luggage and belongings. They have to move through long lines, from one table to another, while officers question and examine them. They have to open their blouses, in front of everybody, so an officer can listen to their hearts with a stethoscope. Another officer lifts their eyelids with a buttonhook to examine their eyes. They have to climb long staircases, single-file. If anybody looks too old or weak, the officers mark their backs with chalk and removes them from the line. Everybody knows what that means.

On the dock, Granny Rose gets loud and refuses to cooperate. She yells for her husband Patrick, who is dead, to come protect her. Nell tries to cover for Granny Rose and calm her down. But an officer gets exasperated with Granny and marks her back with chalk.

Nell wants to stay in this magical new land, but it looks now like her dreams are being taken away from her. She believes that she let her father down by not taking better care of Granny, but she does not want to go back to Ireland as a consequence. Can she somehow salvage the situation? Will this day, the focus of all their hopes, end in disaster, or the new life they sailed for?