Liberated for a year from her parents' restrictions, ten-year-old Lucinda discovers true freedom in the care of her temporary guardians as she roller skates around the streets of turn-of-the-century New York.
Oona Hegerty, a poor woman, has always longed for her own cabin, and on Christmas Eve, after being trapped in the snow with no shelter, she finds a group of wee people who work to grant her wish.