Jay Underwood plays an autistic boy who provides a source of fascination to a new family in town. Never uttering a sound, Underwood spends hours in his backyard, attempting to fly like the birds. Lucy Deakins, the daughter of the new family, befriends Underwood; she is encouraged by teacher Colleen Dewhurst to try to draw the boy out of his shell, and to keep a journal on the subject. Rendered unconscious in a fall, Deakins dreams that Underwood can fly. The boy is suddenly whisked away to an institution, and Deakins despairs that she'll never see him again.