Mags is a 12-year-old girl who lives in Northern Manhattan in 1749 in an estate surrounded by nature that she loves dearly. Her brother, Teunis, plans to sell the estate and move the family into the city, where Mags will no longer be able to run free among the trees with her dogs. Disconsolate, Mags ventures to the top of the hill to meet with a healing witch. The witch advises her to pack up her favorite items. Mags refuses to listen; she doesn’t want to go. Further, the witch tells her to make friends with her enemies. Mags follows this piece of advice: she befriends Major Clarke, the man who is to buy the house from Teunis. Mags asks Major Clarke if she can work for him on the estate so she won’t have to leave. He agrees, and Teunis rejoices at having sold the house. As the rest of her family departs, Mags speaks with her mother, who cries over the loss of Mags and the way she has sacrificed her freedom. As her family drives off, the dogs tied to their carriage, Mags visits the witch. The witch, who is in love with Teunis, decides to follow Mags’ family. As she runs off in the direction of the carriage, she cuts free Mags’s dogs, so that Mags can keep a part of home with her.