It's Germany, 1933 and nine year old Anna has a dream – she wants to be famous when she grows up. Unfortunately nearly all the famous people she's heard of have suffered from a ''difficult childhood'' and Anna knows that's not her. She has a loving family with enough money. Her life is, however, turned upside down by Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Anna's told that she's Jewish (her parents aren't particularly religious so she was only dimly aware of this) and her dad is likely to be a target under a Nazi government. Anna and her family are forced to flee Germany and build a new life as refugees in Switzerland, then France and ultimately England. It's a hard life, especially when money worries settle in, but for Anna and her brother it's also an adventure. It's, therefore, a long time before Anna realises that her experiences might actually count as a ''difficult childhood''.