The hardship and cruelty of life in the ghettos of Warsaw during the Nazi occupation of World War II is captured through the eyes of a young Jewish orphan who must use all his wit and courage to survive unimaginable circumstances.

Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.