King, a mixed breed mutt who's outlasted five names and as many homes, doesn't hold a lot of trust in the 'mans who have shaped his life. In fact, he's developed laws to live with them, the most important being Law #1: See Food, Eat Food. Life's never been better than his current one on a small farm with the calm and comfortable Walter. He's finally settling down after a lifetime of action and trauma, though he misses his lost canine partner, Rose, from whom he was violently separated years before. Despite years of searching for her, he hasn't found anything to give him hope, until one day a strange 'man shows up on Walter's farm with Rose's scent, and King renews his efforts to find her.
Born in a barn to a border collie mom and an unknown father, King finds adventure with his siblings. However, he is forced to leave when his mother becomes injured and can no longer care for them. Though he finds a new home, he quickly discovers that not all 'mans are created equal. King's new 'man Lana showers him with affection and attention, but her partner Roy hates him and forces him to live outside. From his lonely vantage point near the driveway, King watches as a storm builds around Lana and Roy which, when it eventually erupts, leaves him more alone than ever.
Then Rose, a beautiful red and white dog with teardrop ears and a bark like a bowl of gravy, emerges from the field beyond the house with the hint of a better life. Her appearance sparks a final confrontation with Roy, and King escapes with Rose to a new home in a camp on the outskirts of the city where he discovers that dogs are not the only ones who face homelessness and hunger. King adores Rose and wants nothing more than for her to leave with him to escape the 'man's world and their violent ways. But Rose loves her 'man pack and won't leave them.
Life in the homeless camp isn't easy, and just as King accepts Rose's 'man pack as his own, it suffers a devastating loss, the fallout from which leaves King alone and locked up, and Rose nowhere to be found. King pines for Rose and vows to reject the world of 'mans entirely, until Walter, whose pockets smell of peanut butter and bacon enters his cell.
