Young Helen Durkin is trying to get over the loss of her mother.  Noting the struggle, her father sends her to live with her grandparents.  Now, among the forests her mother loved, Helen connects with her mother's hobby, photography.  With her mom's first camera, an old.Nicon, she snaps a shadowy figure of what looks to be a little man attempting to hide in the shadow of a fire tree.

The resulting friendship between the two not only pulls Helen from the depression she was sinking into, but leads her into a world of magic and adventure, giving her a new purpose in life and a reason to live.