Three four-inch-high nomes, led by Masklin and aided by the tiny computer called Thing, set out on a dangerous journey, determined to contact the ship that brought them to Earth and to find a way home for all of their kind.
Reluctant to believe that there is a world outside the department store in which they live, Torrit, Dorcas, and the other nomes look to Masklin, a newly arrived "outsider," to lead them to a safe haven when the store goes out of business.
A group of small creatures called nomes, whose families have lived for generations hidden in a department store, are forced to flee to a country quarry, where they struggle against harsh weather, destructive humans, and dissension among themselves.
