February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he's not used to company and he certainly doesn't want any evacuees. Desperate to be helpful.

Ever since her sister, Agnes, died, Pearl has a tradition every time it snows. It makes Christmas feel a little less lonely.On Christmas Eve, her father receives a letter about a long-lost relative's will. In anticipation of a better Christmas, Pearl goes to beg credit at Mr Noble's grocery to get ingredients for a Christmas pudding.

Magpie witnesses a strange spectacle above the streets of Paris: a boy suspended in the air. It ends in disaster - even so, Magpie is enthralled by the idea of flying. But others, too, are determined to discover Montgolfier's secrets ...