Adventurous 14-year-old Arrietty comes from a traditional family in which mother and father assume their time-honored roles and children grow up under their parents’ supervision. However, they are a family of tiny people who live under the floor of an old house and survive by “borrowing” the things they need from human beings. These tiny people live carefully so as to never be seen by humans. Their way of life, which is full of wisdom and inspiration, has much in common with the way humans used to live. Most of the things they borrow are raw materials. The family works together to modify the materials to suit their needs. Tiny people do not practice magic to achieve their borrowing objectives. They do it the old fashioned way, by getting what they need with their own ingenuity, using ropes and duct tape to climb up and down the walls and furniture. The story starts on an ordinary day in the lives of these tiny people. Then, Arrietty, a curious and sensitive girl, meets a human boy. Their friendship develops, but in the end, they are forced to go their separate ways. The tiny people must flee to the wilderness in order to be free from the dangers of callous humans.