Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer.

Eleven-year-old Jennalee is jealous when a slow-thinking black man arrives in her Smoky Mountains community and claims to be the son of Uncle Beau, the owner of the general store and Jennalee's only friend.

Ten-year-old Walter Tipple is grieving his beloved older brother, Tank, when a sassy girl named Posey moves in next door and Banjo, a hot-air balloonist, sets the pair on an adventure.

Sherman, a one-legged pigeon, sets everyone aflutter in a small southern town.