On July 16th and 17th 1942, the Jewish citizens of Paris were arrested and detained in appalling conditions in an enclosed bicycle track called the Vélodrome d'Hiver (Winter Velodrome), . This event becomes known as the Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv or the Vel d’Hiv Round Up. One of the families forced into the Vel d’Hiv are the Starzynskis. Ten year old Sarah Starzynski has locked her younger brother Michel in a cupboard at home to keep him safe. Trapped in the Velodrome, the Starzynskis are worried about the fate of Michel.
