Ben is half deaf. His mother has died and he feels all alone, even though he is living at his aunt’s house. One stormy night, he sneaks out . . . and eighty three steps away is his house. The one he and his mother shared before the funeral.

There he finds a book called Wonder Struck with red ink inside the front cover. It reads for Danny, Love M. Ben also finds a book mark with a phone number on it and he wonders if it might be a link to his long lost dad, who he never knew.

Ben calls the number as the storm rages outside, just as lightning hits the house and strikes Ben to the ground.

He wakes up in hospital with the realisation that he is now deaf in both ears. As he recovers, Ben wonders about the history of his dad and so he escapes and travels to New York where he meets a faithful friend called Jamie. Jamie’s dad works at the American Museum of Natural History – and this is where Ben discover some amazing links to his dad.

Rose is deaf and lives with her father and mother, movie star Lillian Mayhew. Life is sad for Rose because she never gets to see her mum and she’s locked in her house, unable to lead a normal life.

Like Ben, she too runs away to New York where she meets an old friend at the Museum of Natural History. His name is Walter and he takes Rose to his house and takes care of her.

When Ben’s and Rose’s stories meet, it ends in the least imaginable way possible.