Twelve-year-old Fadi, his parents Habib and Zafoona, and his sisters Noor and Mariam wanted to escape from their home country of Afghanistan and build a better life together in the United States of America. Whilst making the dangerous journey from their hometown of Kabul to the city of Jalalabad and across the border into Pakistan, tragedy struck when 6-year-old Mariam is accidentally left behind. The rest of the family made it safely to America but were unable to properly move on with their lives until they found out what became of Mariam.

Once in America, Fadi had to adjust to a life in a new country. Initially he struggled to make friends and was embarrassed by the free lunch pass he had to use in the cafeteria because his family was too poor to pay for his meals. Soon, Fadi was befriended by another student called Anh who tried to convince Fadi to join the school’s photography club with her. Everyone in the club would be entering a photography competition run in San Francisco. Unfortunately for Fadi, his family could not afford the fifty dollar entry fee which he would need to join the club. Fadi always loved taking photographs in Kabul with his father who taught Fadi the basics of photography but when the Taliban rose to power in the country photography was banned and Fadi was no longer able to pursue his passion.

Slowly, the family began to adjust to life in their new home. Fadi’s father Habib got a job as a taxi driver and his elder sister Noor started work at McDonalds. However none of them could forget that Mariam was still lost and each family member believed it was their own fault that she was left behind. No one can return to look for Mariam because the family can’t afford the cost of the flight. Racked by guilt, Fadi came up with a farfetched plan to sneak onto an airplane and return to Pakistan alone, to find Mariam and restore his sense of honor. He was caught by his father before he made it to the airport. Rather than be angry, both his father and Noor sympathized with Fadi’s desire to find Mariam. Fadi told Noor that the first prize in the photography competition includes plane tickets to India, which is right next to Pakistan, and she agreed to give him the fifty dollars he needed to join the club.

The family’s life took a turn for the worse after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Fadi and his family were horrified by the senseless act of murder, but many people believed that all Muslims are terrorists who supported the men who hijacked the planes. Bullies at Fadi’s school started to target him because of his Muslim faith.

Fadi invested all of his time and energy into winning the photography competition believing it was the only chance he had to find Mariam. When he didn’t win the prize, Fadi was crushed. However he did receive an honorable mention for his entry which attracted the attention of one of the judges who specialized in photographing warzones. The judge offered to show Fadi some of his most recent work which was taken along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Whilst looking through the photographs, Fadi noticed a picture of Mariam playing with some other children at a refugee camp. The judge helped the family track her down and Mariam joined the others in San Francisco.