Unatheletic pre-teen schoolboy Michael is dragged to a new home in the countryside by his father Dave. Fitting in with new classmates is hard, but Michael bonds with protective jock Leakey and a fellow nerd nature lover. In a garden shed he discovers a strange, weak man with owl wings, who becomes a friend whom he helps regain strength and evacuates him to a tree house when father burns down the shed. Learning the 'owl man' is a rundown force of nature, Michael hopes he can help his baby sister's probably fatal medical condition.