Eleven-year-old Harriet "Duck" Scott, who isn't nearly as ladylike as her older sisters, finds many opportunities for adventure during an 1852 wagon train trip from Illinois to Oregon Territory, as her family deals with the loss of loved ones, quicksand, and a horse thief.
Eleven-year-old Elizabeth dashes impulsively into the wilderness to try to save her younger sister, Martha--their father's favorite and the object of Elizabeth's jealousy--when Martha goes missing during their family's journey to Daniel Boone's new settlement in Kentucky.
Sixteen-year-old Rosita Trevino dreams of a better life, as does her book loving stepsister, Maria Alvarez. Neither girl can imagine the danger they will face when they run away and catch a steamboat bound for Texas.
After moving to Chicago so their father can work for Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, twelve-year-old Dora and her three younger sisters find jobs and amusement at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, while also worrying about their family's poverty.
Eleven-year-old Su-Na and her family emigrate from Korea to the island of Hawaii seeking prosperity and good fortune, but racism and poor job prospects force the family to move on to California where they hope life will be better for all of them.
As war with the French and Indians begins in 1704, Madame Sarah Kemble Knight is instructed to bring twin servant girls Hester and Philena on a perilous journey by horse from Boston to New Haven, Connecticut.