Eleven-year-old Jella lives with her mother in a rural idyll in which both feel at home and comfortable. Then, however, they move to the city where her father works. On parting, her friend Freitag presents Jella with a pair of pigeons. Although Jella is looking forward to life in the city, she is unable to accustom herself to her new surroundings. She is being picked on by the other children, and a neighbor′s son even releases her pigeons. They fly back to Freitag who returns them to Jella. When Jella visits the village one day, she is disappointed to learn that she has become a stranger there, as well.

Für ein elfjähriges Mädchen endet das idyllische Leben auf dem Dorf, als die Eltern eine Neubauwohnung in der Stadt beziehen. Nur langsam gewöhnt es sich an die Stadt, wo es schwer ist, neue Freunde zu finden, und die Menschen weitaus unfreundlicher als auf dem Dorf erscheinen.