Nadja Applefield and the Applefield Orphanage are introduced. Nadja is summoned to receive a package of gifts for her 13th birthday (a dress and a diary), and reads in the accompanying letter that her mother is still alive. The arrival in town of the Dandelion Troupe for a dance performance is misinterpreted by two goons, Rosso and Bianco, who set fire to the orphanage.