Jan opened his wooden box and took out the silver sword. `This will bring me luck`, he said to Mr Balicki. `And it will bring you luck because you gave it to me`. The silver sword is only a paper knife, but it gives Jan and his friends hope. Hungry, cold, and afraid, the four children try to stay alive among the ruins of bombed cities in war-torn Europe. Soon they will begin the long and dangerous journey south, from Poland to Switzerland, where they hope to find their parents again.