In Lawtonville, lawyer Hugh Mitchell and his twelve year old son Danny Mitchell just aren't connecting as people, as much as both would truly like to, but without telling the other their direct feelings. Danny would like to do fun things with his father, like go on fishing trips or to the carnival - the latter something that Hugh wouldn't even consider, not wanting to expose Danny to the lowlifes that run the carnival - instead of the staid "getting to get to know each other" father-son luncheons Hugh organizes. In search of that fun, Danny often skips classes or ditches his piano lessons - the piano which he doesn't like and at which he isn't very good - getting him into trouble with his father, which in turn further alienates them. Danny meets vagabond Dr. Francis Xavier Fay, who passes himself as a veterinarian by trade and who has set up camp in his mobile trailer in a clearing near the Mitchell home. Dr. Fay ends up being the father figure that Danny so much wants in his own dad, something that Dr. Fay is aware once meeting the Mitchells. Danny's mother, Ethel Mitchell, also understands the situation better than her husband, but she can only do so much to bring them closer together. Despite not fully trusting Dr. Fay, Hugh may get a lesson in truly understanding his son from the stranger, with a little help from Danny's loyal German Shepard, Rusty.
—Huggo