After his father was killed in a hay baler accident and his mother went into a deep depression, five year old Randy Hogan and his two sisters find shelter with the Beckwiths, the only other ranch family in the isolated North Dakota valley. While his mother recovers Randy is taken under the wing of nine year old Jodi Beckwith, nickname Jezbo the schemer as she has her own ideas about ethics, including snoopy on anyone, including her parents. Randy rides behind Jezbo, arms hugging her middle as she checks cattle and fences.