Emily greets the summer holiday with mixed feelings: while there’s no more school, there’s also no Alice to play with ever since Alice’s parents forbade their friendship. But summer holds out new promise with Emily’s discovery of a dog on the beach. Near death when she spots him and with no one to claim him, it doesn’t take long before Emily’s tender-loving care restores him to his happy and healthy self. In fact, Sam is such a great dog that soon Emily worries that he may be dognapped! Victoria has just been hit with gold fever and men are thronging into the city from Seattle to grab gear—and good dogs if they can find them—before heading up north to the Klondike to get rich. The gold rush, it seems, can change everyone’s fortunes—even those of a dog!