Philip's new neighbor is a girl that he sees looking out her window every day, but he never sees her at school. The girl begins waving at Philip when he passes her house, and Philip begins waving back at her. Then she starts calling "Hi" to him when he passes. With the passing days, Philip learns that her name is Angel, and that she is sick and not allowed to go to school.

Angel has a marvelous idea on how Philip can get a dog of his own. There is a stray dog in the neighborhood, and she tells him her idea of how to get the dog to follow him home. Philip does manage to catch the dog and get it home, but what a disaster! The dog ends up snatching the family's roast beef meant for dinner and escaping with it. Hilarious action puts Philip in the dog-house with his mother.

Then Philip and Emery find a stray mother cat with kittens. They end up moving the cat and her kittens to Angel's back-yard shed and taking care of them every day.

The suspense kicks into high-gear when Angel takes a turn for the worse and has to go to the hospital for an operation. This wonderful story that stresses family values will keep your middle-school reader engrossed and asking for more.