Whistle Down the Wind revolves around the time and place where the word teenager was invented. Swallow, struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, discovers a mysterious stranger whom she believes is Jesus. In a town where a miracle is long overdue, the children fight to protect him from an adult world determined to find an escaped convict hiding in their midst. As fantasy and reality collide, Swallow is torn between the two and begins to discover who she is and where she is going.