An adaptation of E. Nesbit's 1906 children's novel about three spunky youngsters (Jack Blumenau, Clare Thomas and Jemima Rooper) who are thrust into poverty after their father leaves their comfortable London home. Their mother (Jenny Agutter) takes them to a ramshackle country house near a railway station, where they fend for themselves and make many friends, including a well-to-do gentleman (Richard Attenborough) who proves to be very helpful.