Katherine Lunden has hands that are addicted to ink. Growing up in the 1860's in the woods of Wisconsin, she reads every newspaper she can find and dreams of making a name for herself one day. Catching a train to Chicago with nothing more than her satchel and an abandoned suitcase bearing the name "Edith Shay", Katherine sets out to discover the world. But when she arrives in the city, she realizes just how hard it is for a young woman alone to support herself. The suitcase and its phantom owner become a symbol of the woman Katherine would like to be. But how can Katherine dream when it is just so hard getting by? It will take lots of work, some luck, and an extraordinary friend to set Katherine on the road to a life more rewarding than any she ever imagine...