the story is about a little girl during the beginning of the second world war. when the german soldiers invade, she and her family are forced to hide in the woods. when her grandmother gets sick, her father goes into town for medicine and disappears. sarah goes out to pick berries and when she returns, the rest of her family is gone. sarah is forced to survive alone in the woods with only the animals for company. one day she sees some resistance fighters attempt to destroy a bridge the nazis use to transport weapons. when their attempt fails, she decides to destroy the bridge herself, hoping that her actions may end the war. over time she is successful, but afterwards sadly realizes that what she has done will not end the war and walks away into the forest.