Five year old native American, Surefoot, lives in the Arizona desert with his mother. He has become the man of the family following the death of his father. His mother is trying to supplement their meager sheep farming income by selling her handicrafts roadside. Despite those crafts being the best in the area, the cars just go whizzing by without stopping. Surefoot has taken over the sheep herding duties, which would be much easier if he had a sheepdog to help him, but they cannot afford one. One of the duties of a sheepdog would be to keep the mountain lions at bay from killing the herd. Even when Surefoot finds a puppy, his mother will not allow him to keep it. As such, Surefoot gives the puppy to neighboring rancher Marvin Glenn, known as the best lion killer of the area. So when news of a mountain lion killing some of Surefoot's herd comes to light, Marvin and his son Warren come to the rescue. However, Marvin believes there is a better use for the lion to help Surefoot's family in the long run than to kill it.