MeganCutter7
Logline:
When World War II forces two orphaned siblings to flee a strict Sicilian monastery, an resourceful eleven-year-old boy and his clever nine-year-old sister must use their parents' survival lessons to build a secret home in the wild hills and outsmart the dangers surrounding them.
In the sun-baked, war-torn landscape of 1940s Sicily, eleven-year-old Nikos and his nine-year-old sister, Pacifica, find themselves alone in the world. Their father, Spiros, was conscripted into the army and killed in action; shortly after, their mother, Thalia, succumbed to a deadly fever. Before tragedy struck, however, their parents imparted invaluable knowledge: Spiros taught them how to navigate the rugged Sicilian terrain, locate hidden mountain springs, sow crops, and construct shelter, while Thalia showed them how to stretch meager rations, forge trade at local markets, and distinguish lifesaving herbs from poisonous plants.
Placing the siblings in the Sir Francis Foundling Home-one of many orphanages run by a strict order of nuns across the Mediterranean-does little to suppress their independent spirit. Refusing to remain trapped behind cold monastery walls, Nikos and Pacifica stage a daring escape into the wild upper Sicilian hills.
High above the coastline, Nikos uses his exceptional craftsmanship to weave a sturdy, hidden tree fort among the boughs of an ancient holm oak. Meanwhile, Pacifica ranges across the riverbeds and woods, catching wild fish, foraging for edible herbs, and avoiding lethal flora. Armed with their mother's brass thimble, their father's field wisdom, and an unbreakable sibling bond, Nikos and Pacifica build a sanctuary of their own-proving that even in the darkest days of war, hope and self-reliance can bloom under the Mediterranean sun.