Daniel, a Midwestern farm boy, finds a battered dog in a ditch and nurses it back to health, but is disappointed when the dog doesn't immediately respond to his gestures of affection.

Daniel, a Midwestern farm boy, finds a battered dog in a ditch and nurses it back to health, but is disappointed when the dog doesn't immediately respond to his gestures of affection.

Unsure of himself and annoyed at having to spend a day climbing a Montana mountain with his bossy father, twelve-year-old Sam must become the guide on their perilous journey down when his carelessness temporarily blinds his father.