In Gathering of Pearls, the final novel in the trilogy, Sookan leaves her homeland to attend college in New York. Eager to succeed and make her family proud, she quickly discovers the emotional and cultural challenges of living far from home. Surrounded by new freedoms, unfamiliar customs, and classmates who don't always understand her, Sookan grapples with issues of identity, homesickness, and balancing her Korean values with American life. Through letters to her mother and new experiences on campus, she begins to understand what it means to honor her past while shaping her future.