In 1647, England was in the midst of great turbulence and uncertainty. King Charles had been captured, while Cromwell's troops faced the king's loyalists in a devastating civil war. It was a time fraught with danger for everyone, especially the four Beverley children. Without parents—a mother who has died and a father who lost his life fighting for the king—they must fend for themselves. Their plight is only exacerbated when Cromwell's soldiers decide to burn down their house, with the children still inside. The children escape into the vast and mysterious New Forest. Trapped in this natural wilderness, facing hunger and imminent danger, they must fend for themselves while simultaneously hoping that Cromwell's soldiers won't find them.