Silvia, a determined eleven year old girl from a small town in Tuscany, boards a train alone going to Rome. When asked by a mother sitting nearby why she is alone, Silvia responds 'my parents are very modern and leave me to do as I wish.' Two months earlier, we see Silvia's mother incapacitated by a severe episode of recurring depression, and later, at her breaking point, Silvia gathers her things and leaves... alone. On the train, she meets Emina, a smart, defiant 13 year old gypsy girl. When they arrive in Rome, Silvia follows Emina as she disappears inside Rome's vast central train station