After Freda's father is arrested by the Nazis following Crystal Night, she, her mother, and her younger sister flee Germany for the and "safe haven and " of Shanghai. But the safe haven becomes anything but and "safe and " when Freda's mother abandons her children. Forced to become an adult before her time, Freda finds strength, work, and new friends. She also joins the Junior Jewish Resistance, a small group of young people determined to show their defiance of Japanese and Nazi soldiers who are too close for comfort in their new home.