Matty is fifteen and is leaving school in a few weeks´ 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 ...