It is March, 2000. A child's suitcase arrives from Auschwitz for an exhibit at the tiny Children's Holocaust Education Resource Centre in Tokyo, Japan. Spurred on by Maiko and Akira, children at the Centre, Fumiko Ishioka, curator and teacher, begins to search for more information about the life of Hana Brady. Hana's name, birthdate and designation (Waisenkind or orphan), painted on the side of the suitcase, are the only clues. The relentless search by Fumiko, leads her across Europe and North America until she uncovers the fate of Hana and the remarkable survival of Hana's only brother, George, who lives in Toronto. Fumiko brings the painful story of Hana to Maiko and Akira. They start a children's club, the Small Wings, to preserve Hana's story in the hopes of preventing similar tragedies from repeating themselves. Act One ends with a letter arriving at the Holocaust Centre: George Brady has written to Fumiko and the Small Wings, sharing photographs of Hana, and her story.

In the second act George's letter comes to life as he recounts his family's life in the Czech town of Nove Mesto. Their idyllic life is soon shattered when the Nazis invade the country, setting in motion a series of tragic upheavals. Marketa and Karel Brady are deported and Hana and George are taken in by their Uncle Ludvik, a Christian married to Karel's sister. The security Ludvik offered was short-lived, and Hana and George end up in Theresienstadt, a concentration camp. Eventually, George is sent to Auschwitz, followed by Hana a few weeks later, where the two children meet radically different fates at the hands of the Nazis. Akira and Maiko resolve to share Hana's story by creating a play about her life that will tour Japanese schools. The final image on stage is Maiko, pretending to be Hana, riding a scooter.

(Modified from the study guide prepared by the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People)