Walter is a young Jewish boy, growing up in a camp for enemy aliens in Kazakhstan, where winters are harsh, and the summers are hot. His parents are from Austria, but he was born in Tallinn, Estonia. For Walter, the camp is the only home he has known for six years, while the second world war is raging in Europe. He makes friendships with the soldiers who guard them and nurtures eagle fledglings. When the war is over, he and his family embark on a three-thousand-mile journey through war-torn Europe, in search of the rest of their family and a new “home”.