Bill Sackter (Mickey Rooney) struggles to cope after his best friend and guardian, Barry Morrow (Dennis Quaid) and his wife Beverly (Largo Woodruff) move away. Bill moves into a group home run by Mae Driscoll (Teresa Wright) who teaches him how to read. Bill soon discovers his religious heritage, overcoming the fire that accidentally destroyed his small canteen business, and then travels to California to search for the Morrows.