Tells the tale of two deaf children separated by fifty years. In 1927 New York City, Rose searches for the actress who's life she chronicles in her scrapbook; in 1977 in the Midwest, Ben runs away from home to find his father. The movie is based on the novel of the same title by Brian Selznick, which is the predecessor to his screen-adapted novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.

Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.