Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps when her aunt leaves to work in Frankfurt. The solitary man has a difficult reputation, but Heidi quickly finds a home among the mountains, animals and new neighbours. Later changes in her circumstances test her attachment to that life.
The grandfather’s hut is a new place to Heidi, so even familiar mountain routines offer things she has never encountered. Her openness also changes the atmosphere around a man used to being alone. The early story builds their household through ordinary days rather than a single rescue or journey.
The swing gives Heidi’s mountain life a simple physical shape: hands gripping ropes, a face turned into the open air. It is a different view from the child arriving with an adult’s hand to hold. Becoming familiar with a place means discovering what she can do and enjoy there for herself.
