When the opportunity arises, Shirley, the daughter of immigrants who live above their corner grocery store, turns some overlooked gefilte fish into a marketing strategy that changes the flavor of the neighborhood.

During the Nazi occupation of France, Monique's mother hides a Jewish family in her basement and tries to help them escape to freedom.

"Brings to life a not too distant history of immigration to Ellis Island. When it's time for nine-year-old Gittel and her mother to leave their homeland behind and go to America for the promise of a new life, a health inspection stops any chance of Gittel's mother joining her daughter on the voyage. Knowing she may never see her mother again, Gittel must find the courage within herself to leave her family behind"--

In 1912 New York, Gertie feels left out while Mama and her four older sisters cook Hanukkah dinner, but Papa comes home and asks her help with an important task.

In Washington, D.C., during the Great Depression, Muriel and her family have no money to prepare the seder meal until a mysterious stranger performs a Passover miracle. Includes notes on the Passover holiday, the Great Depression, and the history of the D.C. Jewish community.