When four children of missionaries in Malaysia form a club and treat an unpopular schoolmate as an enemy, the subsequent events bring one of them to a better understanding of how to treat people.
Selby needs God's help as she tries to take care of her new puppy, make friends with a black classmate, and deal with an obnoxious boy at school as well as with the troubled girl across the street.
Visiting the Children's Home changes Max's mind about sharing his many toys with the new friends he meets there, and he also shares his own mixed-up version of the Bible story of the loaves and fishes.
When she goes to live with her aunt and uncle after her mother dies, eleven-year-old Shelby finds comfort in their love, but she still prays to God for a puppy of her own.