Alex is 17 when he sees Charlie beyond the fence at Manzanar, but he thinks it is an optical illusion.

Alex Maki and Charlie Lévy become pen pals through school. They begin their correspondence in March 1935 when they are both 10 years old. Alex is taken aback that Charlie is a girl and is rude to her at first, but she takes it as a joke. After they write to each other for three years, Alex reveals that he lied about being a white American. Instead, he is nisei, a second-generation Japanese American. Charlie is angry that he lied to her, but they make up over the course of several letters. Alex, whose dream is to become a comic artist, sends her an illustration of them both together; Alex portrays himself as a turtle with a long neck and draws Charlie standing atop the Eiffel Tower.