Ricky Baker is a troubled kid in the foster care system, who has spent much of his life bouncing between homes. By almost every conventional metric, he is a bad and a lost kid with no hope for redemption. When he is sent to the rural home of Uncle Hector and Aunt Bella, Bella welcomes him with open arms, and Ricky is disarmed by the feeling of family for the first time in his life.
Initially, Ricky acts as he normally does: he is aloof and oftentimes rude, running away in the middle of the night and rebelling in small ways. When Bella takes the time to connect with him and throws him a birthday party and sing a funny song, Ricky feels like he has finally found a home that will make him feel safe. Unfortunately, Aunt Bella dies suddenly, and Child Services wants to take Ricky back into custody, and probably send him to "juvie."
Trying to avoid this dark fate, Ricky fakes his own suicide (accidentally burning down Hector's barn in the process) and runs away into the bush. Hector, known as Hec, follows him and finds him soon enough, before promptly fracturing his foot. They decide that they have to stay in the bush for at least a few weeks while Hec's foot heals.
When Child Services and the cops find Hec's barn burned down, the head of Child Services, Paula, determines that Hec probably kidnapped Ricky. Then, when Ricky and Hec run into a group of hunters who recognize them from a "Wanted" poster, Ricky says something that makes it sound like Hec has been molesting him. A rumor spreads, and Hec and Ricky become "wanted" criminals.
Ricky and Hec start to run through the wilderness. They bond in their journey, encountering many obstacles and learning to live in the wild. Eventually, they are apprehended by the authorities. Ricky gets placed in a new home and Hec gets sent to prison. When Hec has done his time, Ricky goes and finds him, and they go back to having adventures in the bush.
