In the 19th‑century city of Genoa, Italy, a nine‑year‑old boy named Marco faces the painful separation from his mother, Anna. She leaves for Argentina to escape crippling taxes and a severe economic depression, leaving Marco under the care of his father, a doctor who works at a hospital for the poor. Marco misses his mother deeply, and when she suddenly stops writing, his anxiety grows. Determined to find her, he sets out alone on a perilous journey of more than 10,000 miles. Armed only with love, courage, friendship, and a yearning to reunite with his mother, Marco traverses the Atlantic, the Andes, and spiritual horizons, experiencing a coming‑of‑age adventure that reshapes his life.