Katie is just seven and her father is leaving, going to fight in a faraway war, and no one knows when he will come home again.

With Papa away, Katie and her mother do the best they can. Katie makes friends with Old Mrs. Leitstein downstairs. Mama's best friend Louise comes to visit, and then to stay, because her husband is fighting in the war, too, and Louise is going to have a baby.

One stormy day while Mama is at work, Louise says the baby is coming, and Katie helps her through the blizzard to the hospital. Mrs. Leitstein and Louise and her new baby come to seem almost like family to Katie. Then one day, a telegram man brings Mama an envelope with stars on it, and life will never be the same.

Through Katie's keen and tender eyes, Amy Hest tells an intensely moving story about the changes war brings to one family.