One day Mia and her mum are walking home to their new house when they find a dolls' house on the side of the road. It looks sad with its broken shutters and peeling paint, but Mia falls in love and takes it home to fix it up. The next morning a little boy is looking at the dolls' house on Mia's porch.

Soon more and more children arrive, and they spend the long summer days playing together. Just one child does not join in, and nothing Mia does can persuade him to overcome his shyness. Then, one night, there is a terrible storm and the dolls' house is damaged.

Mia learns that kindness can come from the most unexpected places.