Kary Rose is about as happy as a 10-year-old can be. School is out for the summer, and she plans to enjoy every day of her vacation riding her pony, Amber. At her father's insistance, however, Kary reluctantly gives up some of her free time to teach baseball to Henry Spencer, the class nerd, and realizes Henry is "not so bad after all." Then Kary learns about Jack Croft, the lonely old man that lives near her home. She doesn't understand why people talk so badly about him, and why someone doesn't try to help him. When she overhears bad news from town, Kary has to decide whether to keep her...