Though there is no shortage of stories about the love and loyalty between humans and their four-footed friends, Pyron offers a fresh and inspired tale of 11-year-old Abby Whistler and her beloved Shetland sheepdog, Tam. During a long trip home from an agility contest, a car accident sends Tam's kennel flying from the bed of Abby's truck and down a fast-moving creek, leaving him badly injured and alone and Abby in the hospital. So begins an epic account of the girl's and dog's travails in their quest to be reunited. The narrative toggles between Abby's and Tam's points of view, through their experiences with pain, danger, and aching loneliness for each other.