Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese-American, has lived at Seattle's Sacred Heart Orphanage since his mother disappeared five years ago. During a trip to the movie theatre, 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.

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from China to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the Western name "Ford". Jamie grew up in Seattle and now lives in Montana with his wife and children.