One evening in early spring, a woeful cry lifts across Schooley Pond. It is the lament of a lonely Canadian goose, Sonny. Drake, a mallard duck, cringes at the cry of his best friend, and tells Sonny's story. Drake loves Sonny and sees him as a brave goose, who tries hard to be normal, despite the visible wounds that Sonny bears since he was a tiny gosling. Sonny judges himself as a worthless, cowardly cripple; a goose without purpose in the world. But Sonny's true character surfaces when he is faced with a decision involving life and death.