Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen, often think about the way life was before the war. It's now 1943, and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching in their town.

Left in charge of her home and infant sibling when her parents are called away at Christmastime, Bettina disregards a family custom about leaving out rice pudding for the nisse, who make their magic known when the baby disappears. "Christmas has come, and with it a sparkling white winterfrost over the countryside. But twelve-year-old Bettina's parents have been called away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the house, the farm, and baby Pia....