During the fall of the Soviet Union a young Hungarian boy falls in love with an American girl, when she comes for a short visit to her parent's old town in Hungary. In order to see her again, the 13 year-old boy decides to create a special machine that could transport him to the USA.

9 year old Sára lives in an old block of flats in downtown Budapest. One day a strange new boy, Balázs moves next door, who can’t stand the bizarre noises of the old house. Sára decides to help him out anyway she can.

Quiet 10-year-old Zsofi has just changed schools. Feeling out of place at first, she is quickly admitted to the school’s famous choir and befriends her popular classmate Liza. Soon, they have to stand up united against their choir master, who isn’t quite the friendly and inspirational teacher they first thought she was.

Emerenc, an elderly and private woman, is hired to be the housekeeper of a struggling writer, Magda. An event in the writer's life prompts Emerenc to disclose details of her traumatizing past, which will bond the two women forever. Based on the novel by Magda Szabó.