Summary

The trip was long and tiresome for the Wongs traveling to America. They took a boat across the sea to California then took a train to Brooklyn. The buildings were a real shock to Shirley as she had never seen such huge monuments to human ingenuity. Shirley and her mother, both coming from royal or higher upper class, have to get used to the modest accommodations, like Shirley's makeshift bed and the refrigerator.

Shirley's mother has to learn to cook their food and learn the ways of NYC. Shortly after they arrive, Shirley wants to impress her father and offers to fetch him his favorite cigarettes from the store he had taken her to just hours prior. Unfortunately, she gets lost on the way back and her father has to come rescue her. Shirley now starts to have her doubts about living in America...