A fire begins in Deadwood, South Dakota, and is soon raging through the Ponderosa Pine Forest of the Black Hills. Nine-year-old Annette, her siblings, and cousins are sent home from school early. Later in the evening, the children notice the smell of smoke. Turning on the television, they find out that the fire is actually very close. The newscast reveals that Annette's dad, uncle, and their fellow workers in the Homestake Gold Mine have been signaled to evacuate the mine and ordered to join the ranks of those fighting the fire. Radio and TV announcers let listeners know that Deadwood is being evacuated, and that residents in the nearby town of Lead, where Annette and her family live, should standby for further direction.

It is a scary time for Annette, as her mom, aunt, siblings, and cousins plan and prepare for possible evacuation. She must summon up the courage to go into the dreaded basement alone to collect supplies. Worse yet, when Mother experiences an asthma attack and sister Betty breaks her toe playing kickball, Aunt Dolly needs to drive them to the hospital, leaving Annette in charge of the other children. Annette faces her 11 siblings and cousins who look at her "like a bunch of lost puppies."

In addition to coming up with ways to keep everyone occupied and calm, she must prepare supper for them, all the while worrying that they have no means of escaping, should they need to evacuate.