Nine-year-old Stella Sullivan loves all the animals around her Montana home, but there is a special place in her heart for her puppy, Rufus. When a forest fire threatens a nearby stable, Stella locks Rufus safely in the kitchen and rushes to rescue the horses. The fire grows nearer. Everyone must be evacuated from the valley. Stella helps her veterinarian aunt care for a singed raccoon, a kitten with a burned foot, and an abused grizzly bear cub...