I will compare two well-known depictions of Irish orphans circulating in global networks: one, in the context of the British Empire, Rudyard Kipling’s Kim; and the other, Martin Sixsmith’s nonfiction account, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, as both nonfiction narrative and as Stephen Frears’ film Philomena. My focus will be a consideration of what these works might tell us concerning the similarities and distinctions that exist — with regard to children, whiteness, and innocence — between the British and the American empires at their respective zeniths