This story is about a girl named Ada. Ada was born with a club foot, and because of that her mother was embarrassed about her and abused her. For example, she put Ada in a cabinet under the sink if she did something bad or something her mom didn’t like.
When an order comes to evacuate children from London into the English countryside, Ada decides she doesn’t want her brother to go alone, so she goes with him. When they get there, they are taken into the town to wait for somebody to take them to their home. Although they are the last pick, they probably get the best person to take them, Miss Smith. She takes care of them, feeds them, and even takes Ada to the doctor to see if the doctor can fix her foot. The doctor comes up with the solution of giving Ada surgery to put the foot back into place, but this can only happen if her mother approves, so Miss Smith writes her a letter.
In the meantime, Ada and Jamie are starting to love Miss Smith. She sews them clothes and makes sure they have a proper meal every night. Later on, Miss Smith, Ada, and Jamie have to build a shelter. The Germans are likely to invade soon, since they are already sinking ships. One day, Ada gets home from riding Butter and sees her mother and Miss Smith waiting for her. Her mother looks very agitated, and she takes Ada and Jamie home. She says that they, “turned into spoiled brats.”
At the end of the book, their mother finally lets Ada and Jamie go back with Miss Smith after Ada promises there will be no further expenses, but before they can get there, the Germans invade.
In the end, everybody gets what they want. Jamie and Ada get to live with Miss Smith, Miss Smith gets Jamie and Ada, and their mother doesn’t have the responsibility of watching them anymore.