The film is set in the year 2000 following not only Helga and Traudi's journeys but the next two generations and how Beth, Helga's daughter and Emily her granddaughter are confronted with the long-term effects of Traudi's leaving. When Helga receives a letter telling her that Traudi is close to death, it is Emily with whom Helga shares the truth. Emily volunteers to accompany her to Vienna to meet the great-grandmother she thought was dead, and experience the unraveling of the darkest of family secrets.

An orphan little girl befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.