Lola is eleven years old and lives with her mother Loretta on an old houseboat by the river. Actually, she could be quite happy if her father had not “vanished into thin air” two years ago. She often dreams that he comes back. She no longer goes to the hairdresser and lets her red hair, which her father liked so much, just grow. She still wears her old sneakers, even though they are all too small.