Madlenka lives in New York City. She has lived on the same block, in the same building, in the same apartment since the day she was born. Everyone on the block knows her, and they are all her friends: the French baker, the Indian news vendor, the Italian ice-cream man, the German lady who sits by her window, the Latin American greengrocer, and the Asian shopkeeper. For Madlenka, a trip around the block is like a trip around the world.