Swedish children, Fia and Hampus, made unhappy by the insecurity of their circumstances, exchange dares to gain possession of their talisman, a white stone. How could Fia have spent a whole day without talking? And how could Hampus have taken a real live circus elephant through the streets to tie him in the school teacher's yard? Who was to say whether the white stone gave them power or they gave it to the stone ... At last the real world impinged on their fragile, imaginary one with nearly tragic consequences.