Matty is fifteen and is leaving shool in a few week's time. He wants to work with animals, and would like to get a job on a farm. But his parents say he's too young to leave home - he must stay in the town and get a job in ship-building, like his father.
They also say he can't go on a camping holiday with his friends. And they say he can't keep his dog - Nelson, because Nelson barks all day and eats his father's shoes.
But it is because of Nelson that Matty finds a new life ...