Charley Thompson is a 15-year-old who has no stability in his life. He wants a home, food on the table and a high school he can attend for more than part of a year. But as the son of a single father, working in warehouses, finding some stability is hard. Hoping for a new start they move to Portland where Charley takes a summer job, and becomes best friends with a failing racehorse named Lean on Pete.