Orphaned twice and all alone in the world, Taddy watches as Neezer and Lucky, two sinister thieves, steal his family's possessions, and then make him a virtual prisoner. With only table scraps and dry crusts of bread to eat, Taddy and another boy named Beetle are forced to work long, cruel hours carrying freezing, heavy blocks of ice for delivery in Lucky's ice wagon.

Then a neighbor, Mrs. Mainyard, tells lucky she'd like to hire Taddy during the day as a servant boy. His wages go to Lucky, but he's better fed. And once inside the sumptuous Mainyard mansion, Taddy sees the impossible - a boy who looks just like him. Can this be the mysterious twin he'd been told about?