Atruestoryofafamilyandtown'sefforttosaveabelovedandheroicdognamedSemperFi.Thefather,aCaptainintheUSMarinesandhishomemakerwife,contendwiththe"notsoearthshattering"problemsoftheirtwin,fifteenyearolddaughterandsonaswellastheanticsoftheirprecocioussixyearolddaughter.Theirlivestumblealong,asmostfamiliesdo,untiltheymustfacethegravediagnosisoftheirfaithfullyandverylovedGoldenRetriever,SemperFi.Thefamilycannotaffordtheexpensivesurgerythedogneeds.Thechildrenjumpintoactionwithaplan,spearheadedbythefifteenyearolddaughter.Theyplanacommunityyardsale,donatingalloftheirmostprizedpossessions.Thefamily'sgrumpyneighborplaysanunlikelyandunexpectedpartintheultimatesuccessofthefundraising.BeforeSempergoesinforhissurgery,hedisplaysaheroicactthatalmostendshislife.Thestoryunfoldsduringtheholidayseason.

Fortunereflectsonherowngoodfortune,includingsomebiglifeeventsshe'sexperiencedthelastcoupleyearslikefallinginlovewithherwifeandtheextravagantproposalsheplannedthatdidn'tgoasexpected,andmuchmore.