Francie Nolan sees the world differently from others — she notices the good and the bad, knows that life is full of injustice, yet also full of kind people. Every day she goes to the library for a new book and reads it sitting on the fire escape in the shade of a huge tree. And almost everyone considers her a little odd. Francie’s family lives in a poor neighborhood of Brooklyn, and all the neighbors know that the Nolans’ life is never without drama. Her father, Johnny, an incredibly handsome son of Irish immigrants, works as a singing waiter and often drinks, so her mother, Katie, has to work for two to feed the family. And to make gossip even worse, Katie’s sister, Aunt Sissy, gets married faster than she divorces her husbands. But the Nolans’ home is full of love, and they are all happy despite their hard life. Each of them believes that tomorrow will be better, yet understands that they can withstand any blow of fate. Why are they so sure of this? To understand, one must get to know every member of the family.