Copenhagen on the steamship Thingvalla together with a lot of other hopeful Danes. Onboard, they meet and befriend an older couple, Anna and Rasmus. Conditions are tough down in the ships hold and when Ramus dies, Anna decides to travel on together with the Jensens. They eventually arrive in New York and then a long and eventful journey to North Dakota awaits them. They travel by train, stagecoach and wagon, always heading north-west and meeting new people along the way; some helpful, some not so much. Ida must learn a new language, new customs and when befriending a young Indian boy, discovers the New World is an exciting but dangerous place.