Alex Carey and Bender Baxter had been friends since early childhood. Now, approaching their sixteenth birthdays, Alex is drowned in the Latoon River in a tragic diving accident. While Bender goes for help, Alex is mysteriously rescued, but unconscious, never sees his savior. Assuming him to be Jubel Owens, a local hermit, Alex and Bender set out to find and thank Old Jubel.