In an idyllic setting, a likable but dangerously volatile twelve-year-old boy tries to settle a score with his disagreeable, mysterious neighbor.

When his dog dies, apparently from being poisoned, the young son of the owner of a small orange orchard in California immediately suspects an unfriendly, mysterious stranger who has just moved into the area, who recently had a quarrel with the boy's father. The boy's suspicions grow and also influence other townspeople who begin to believe that the stranger may also be a wanted killer. Unwarranted assumptions and wild speculations lead to several problems before the truth is revealed.—Les Adams <[email protected]>