One night, Lucy's angry stepfather takes eight-year-old Lucy from the little room in which she has been locked away for years, puts her in the back seat of his van, and leaves her in a remote English wood. Lucy's only knowledge of nature comes from books. When she experiences the miraculous outdoors directly, she is full of wonder at the beauty and life all around her. Most of all, she is relieved to be free of her stepfather. Lucy discovers freedom, magic, and an extraordinary friendship, her first ever, with a surprise visitor, nine-year-old Will, who, bewitched by her wild eyes, long black hair and strange speech, brings her live chickens to give her eggs, food daily, and a recorder to imitate the sounds of the woods. Lucy feels safe and at home for the first time, sleeping inside grandpa tree's hollow trunk, and playing woodland music that puts a spell on all who hear it. Lucy's greatest fear is that she will be found. But the police do eventually capture her and take her to an orphanage run by strict nuns where the bullying and fascination for toys and television seem strange to Lucy who sees this man-made world as another prison, cut off from outdoor miracles. She eventually manages to escape back to the woods where she and Will, inside grandpa tree, experience magical guidance on how to continue their journey.