This is the third in a series of films about a boy and his dog, his family, and the mean man next door who isn't so mean, if you get to know him. When an abandoned car is discovered and the driver is reported missing, people immediately begin to suspect that Judd had something to do with it. Later, when the missing driver turns up dead--he was last seen arguing with Judd in a bar--most of the townspeople are ready to convict Judd on general principles. Marty believes in him, and his dad backs him up: Judd is a troubled man, but certainly not a killer. Can a bad person truly change, as long as people give him a chance to do so?