As a teenager has difficulty coping with his mother's remarriage, he finds and nurses back to health a German Shepherd, but keeps him a secret for fear that his stepfather would return him to his original owner.

Fourteen-year-old Chris is haunted by the death of his father and resentful of his stepfather Cal. He befriends a lost dog and names it Smoke, but tries to keep it a secret for fear Cal will take the dog away.—Eric Sorensen <[email protected]>

Chris is a sullen farm youth who resents the fact that his widowed mother has remarried. Howard's new stepfather, a sheep rancher, would give anything to gain Ron's love and respect. Nursing an injured German shepherd back to health, the boy invests all of his affections in the dog. When the dog's real owners show up, Howard is certain that his stepfather will betray him and return the animal.—Hal Erickson