The setting is Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1944 Two sisters are left alone when their mother doesn't return from an errand. They are new to the city and know few people. Their father is a prisoner of war in the Pacific. The girls have no money and are afraid to ask for help so the narrative concerns the problems and conflicts they face, and how they meet them. In doing so their relationship to each other changes in many ways. They learn courage and how to overcome their fears, and remember to say their prayers. In the end their mother is found in a local hospital and the girls are reunited with her.