Nellie O�Malley and her little sisters finally have a home. After losing their parents and having been abandoned by their uncle, they are now living in comfort and safety with her friend Samantha�s family in New York City. Best of all, Samantha�s Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia want to adopt all three of the O�Malley girls. This will make Nellie and Samantha sisters as well as best friends, and it will allow Nellie to keep a promise she made to her dying mother�to protect her little sisters. But when Nellie�s no-good uncle, Mike O�Malley, turns up again, he threatens to take Nellie and her sisters back and ruin everything. Nellie is determined not to let that happen, but soon discovers that even her friendship with Samantha has been affected by Uncle Mike�s threat. How can all the good things in her new life unravel so fast? Is there a way to keep her promise and save everything she loves the most?