A puppy, Minnow, remembers his life born in a tenement in a high-rise block of flats. He is befriended by an old lame dog, Rufus, a wise campaigner who introduces his young companion to city life and daring escapades for morsels and nourishment. During a fearful chase the two dogs are parted: both are transported separately to a Home for Strays, a business operation run by money grabbing, untrustworthy individuals. Minnow, an attractive puppy, is purchased for the daughter of a wicked witch like woman, Mrs Cowper. The spoilt child soon tires of her new pet and her mother, who rules the family, takes a strong dislike to the now, unpopular puppy.
Next, Minnow's hunting instinct encourages him to chase a dog fox into woods. He finds himself, with fear and pain, wedged deep in an underground tunnel. After days of starvation in a near skeletal state, the puppy manages to crawl to freedom. Weak and disorientated, he falls into the hands of two jovial poachers. The illegal hunters give the puppy succour, but the following day Minnow's comfort ends when the young dog is returned to his unscrupulous former owner whose brow beaten husband had advertised a reward for the puppy's return.
Following a frightful argument, a monetary transaction takes place and at once the rejected puppy's life is in jeopardy as Mrs.Cowper recklessly drives him to wasteland, and cruelly, she leaves him to die in freezing winter conditions.
Minnow discovers a gypsy settlement and adapts to a life on the road. More characters and canine companions enter his life. At a fair, panic and turmoil erupt when a fire ravages his wagon abode, and for the young dog, a new home is found.
Minnow's story finally ends in happy surroundings, and it is here where Minnow relates his life filled with awesome adventures, and at times, in atrocious conditions.
