Plot summary

In 1921, yearning to start afresh, Polish sisters Ewa and Magda Cybulska board a boat bound for New York City seeking a brighter future. Instead, on arrival to Ellis Island, Magda is placed in quarantine after receiving a grim, unexpected medical diagnosis, and the two women are forced to separate. Now, Ewa meanders on Manhattan's mean streets and falls under the spell of malevolent Bruno, an unscrupulous, immoral man who forces her into prostitution. One day, a ray of hope appears in the form of Bruno's cousin Orlando, a suave magician whose romantic interest in Ewa might be her ticket to a life worth living. Will Ewa manage to get back on her feet and live the American Dream?—Nick Riganas