It's the 1940s. In a Midwestern German community, three children cope with their beloved father's tuberculosis diagnosis. In this time of growing anti-German sentiment, the war and his illness is pushing this close-knit farming family into poverty. Their mother is unable to process the decline of her husband and so retreats. Their grandmother, Pop'Em picks up the reins. She encourages the children to live, not merely to survive and certainly not to hide. In response, they turn to music and Cubs baseball. And, always, to each other.