Eleven-year-old Nikolas lives with his father Joel, a widowed woodcutter, in a wooden house in the forest, when one day the king sends for his subjects: Volunteers are to search for something on the border of the kingdom that might make people more cheerful again. When his father does not return from this venture, Nikolas follows him to the magical place called Wichtelgrund, which his mother used to tell him about. In the end, it is Nikolas who brings joy back to the people.