In 1947, severe food shortages threaten the lives of thousands of Europeans, but what can thirteen-year-old Jimmy Burns do to help?When a Washington columnist initiates a food drive for the hungry of France and Italy, Jimmy's family and other ordinary Americans respond. But some people object to sending food and money overseas when U.S. citizens are also in need. Jimmy, an avid reader of the Hardy Boys and an amateur sleuth, must use his investigative skills to ensure that the Friendship Train's cargo, America's Christmas gift to Europe, reaches its destination.