A young boy's serene summer day is shattered by the crash of a bullet-riddled enemy plane. Further disrupting the tranquility are the arrival of Grandmother’s strange and unusual friend Mr. Girandole, and the discovery of a riddle in the sacred grove of ruins behind Grandmother’s house. In a sumptuous idyllic setting and overshadowed by the threat of war, four unlikely allies learn the values of courage, sacrifice, and what it means to be a family.