A magical film about the mysteries of childhood and a thousand-year-old custom. Tom, Sebastian and Paul are three children from very different families. They live in a small village in 'Mansfelder Land', an area where the demise of mining has left its scars. Despite the changing times, the villagers have retained an archaic custom over the centuries. Just once a year, the younger ones are able to triumph over their elders, and this is the first hint at the changing of generations: springtime drives out the winter, and thus the young drive out the old. That's the way it's always been, and how it will always be - and once a year, this old magic returns to the hearts of the villagers.