Atruestoryofafamilyandtown'sefforttosaveabelovedandheroicdognamedSemperFi.Thefather,aCaptainintheUSMarinesandhishomemakerwife,contendwiththenotsoearthshatteringproblemsoftheirtwin,fifteenyearolddaughterandsonaswellastheanticsoftheirprecocioussixyearolddaughter.Theirlivestumblealong,asmostfamiliesdo,untiltheymustfacethegravediagnosisoftheirfaithfullyandverylovedGoldenRetriever,SemperFi.Thefamilycannotaffordtheexpensivesurgerythedogneeds.Thechildrenjumpintoactionwithaplan,spearheadedbythefifteenyearolddaughter.Theyplanacommunityyardsale,donatingalloftheirmostprizedpossessions.Thefamily'sgrumpyneighborplaysanunlikelyandunexpectedpartintheultimatesuccessofthefundraising.BeforeSempergoesinforhissurgery,hedisplaysaheroicactthatalmostendshislife.Thestoryunfoldsduringtheholidayseason.