Sadie Smith can't believe her luck when she is told that soon she will be like all other children and her mother buys her a pair of scarlet ribbons. For Sadie, born with a degenerative hip, is unable to walk. When she arrives at Babies Castle, a Dr Barnardo's home, she is so excited that she fails to realize she will never see her beloved family again. In 1927, once fully cured, Sadie is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to start a new life in Canada. But when she arrives at the Trikhardts' farm in the heart of Ontario, her new life seems far from perfect. Worked from dawn to dusk, she treasures her scarlet ribbons and seeks solace in her friendship with fellow orphan, cheeky-faced Robbie. A freak hurricane finally provides Sadie with a lucky escape. From Canadian parlourmaid to pilot in Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary, from office clerk to managing director, Sadie has to draw on all her courage and strength in her determined struggle to find the lasting happiness that has always eluded her as a child.