Alan Steger doesn't like girls, but that all changes in 1945 on the day he sees Michelene Villiers, a refugee from France who shows up in his sixth-grade class in the small, coalmining town of Dragger, Utah. Michelene's family has fled their country, which has been overrun by the Nazis. Soon, Alan finds himself dreaming of rescuing Michelene from a life of misery.
Alan does whatever he can to win the approval of the girl with the soft, lyrical accent. He even stands up to Ralph, the class bully, who calls her a frog.
When Michelene moves, Alan is heartbroken. He tries to stop thinking about her, but then he receives a letter from Michelene. But before he can read it, he gets into a fight with Ralph and his cousin, Billy, and loses the letter.
As Alan searches for Michelene's lost message, his rivalry with Ralph and Billy continues. When a relative of Ralph and Billy is killed, the sheriff and bumbling constable begin investigating.
What began as a boyhood crush quickly turns into something much bigger as Billy comes of age in "Michelene's Letter."