Her father told her he would return from war. He didn't. On Christmas Eve 1944, two men in uniforms knock on the door of the Ares' house to inform Mrs. Ares that her husband had been killed in the war. At that moment, nine-year-old Roberta enters an adult world of inconsistencies and inexplicable grief as she tries to make sense of her father never returning. Before he left for war, her father told her he had to cross the water far away to help fight for their country. Roberta becomes convinced that if she can cross the large lake by their house, she will be able to find her father and discover the truth about what happened. Through trial, error, and painful lessons, she embarks on a journey in her mind in search of peace and understanding as Christmas in '45-the year anniversary of her father's death-approaches.