Mikel Mikeloviz, disguised as a monk, transports Princess Jeanne, the infant daughter of King René of the little kingdom of Zilinia, to Bruges to wait in safety during the war. Dame Paula runs the Laundry of the White Geese and is known as Mother Goose, and Mikel gives the princess to Paula in secret to raise as her own daughter under the name of Sylvia whilst her father is away at war.