When Jon Katz takes in a young troubled border collie, his calm, sedate life will never be the same again. Jon and his wife live in a New Jersey suburb with two perfectly behaved Labradors. Then into the mix comes Devon, who creates havoc from the moment he arrives at the airport, when it takes Jon, two baggage handlers and three police officers to track him down after he escapes.

Jon learns the hard way how to encourage Devon to behave. But amongst the difficulties of their first year together, Jon discovers his life is enlivened by a creature with so much mischievousness and joie de vivre. In fact, Jon finds that he is to change as much as Devon.