Plot
Avery "Ave" Ludlow, a storekeeper, has a dog named Red, a gift for his 50th birthday from his late wife, Mary. One day, fishing at a lake with Red by his side, three boys come along: brothers Danny and Harold McCormack and their friend Pete Doust. Danny threatens Ave with a shotgun and demands money. When Avery says he has only $30, Danny becomes furious and kills Red. He laughs and jokes about it as he leaves with the other boys.
Ave visits a gun store, where the clerk identifies Danny as the shotgun purchaser based on a description. Ave visits Danny's father Michael and tells his story. Michael summons his sons and asks them if they shot Red. They deny it, and Michael tells Ave to leave.
Ave decides to ask for a prosecution and talks to his lawyer, Sam Berry. Sam discourages him by saying that the penalty is low, but Ave persists. Sam arranges a meeting between Ave and a reporter named Carrie. Carrie tells him that publicity would prompt official action. Ave agrees and gives a human-interest television interview to Carrie. However, the story fails to get attention except for a rock with a threatening message thrown through Ave's window. Carrie is transferred to another story while Ave pursues a civil lawsuit for damages.
Carrie asks Ave about his family; he tells her his elder son was mendacious and was thrown out of the Navy due to mental illness. One day, he returned home and asked his mother for money. She refused, and he assaulted her. Thinking he had killed her, he set fire to his brother and mother with kerosene. The brother died immediately while Mary survived for five days in a coma before dying.
Ave begins following the boys. Harold sees Ave watching them and, remorseful, apologizes. Ave says he would like Danny to do likewise. One day, Danny is playing baseball with friends and becomes frustrated after striking out, leaving the game in anger with his brother and Pete. Ave follows them and parks behind their car. Danny confronts him and, needled by Ave, tries to hit him with his bat. Ave parries the blow and knocks Danny down; Ave points out that, as Danny attacked in daylight with witnesses, he should watch his temper, saying the beating Ave has given him is one his father should have administered. Shortly after, Ave's store burns down. No evidence implicates the McCormacks, but Pete's parents suddenly have enough money to have their dilapidated house repaired.
Ave exhumes Red and takes him to the McCormacks' house, confronting them with the dog's corpse. Michael and Danny brandish pistols, demanding Ave leave. When Ave refuses, Danny steps forward and aims at Ave. Ave deflects Danny's arm as he fires, and the shot hits Ave's ear. Ave wrestles Danny's gun from him, throws him to the ground at gunpoint, and tells Michael to lower his gun. Ave forces Danny to drive to the sheriff, where he intends to have Danny charged with attempted manslaughter. Michael follows Ave and rams his truck off the road. The McCormacks return home, thinking Ave is dead.
Night falls and Ave regains consciousness. He finds Danny's revolver in the wreckage and returns to the McCormack house, where he meets a shaken Harold on the porch. Ave asks Harold to be taken to Red's body, but Michael, Danny, and Pete follow them. Michael and Danny are again armed; Harold tells them to stand down, but Danny shoots Ave in the belly with the shotgun. Ave returns fire, wounding both Danny and Michael. As they fall, they fire back: in the crossfire, Harold and Pete are fatally shot. Ave approaches the injured Danny and Michael, telling the father that Harold is dead.
As he recuperates, Ave reads a newspaper with Carrie's account of his story. Carrie visits, tells him that she's been offered a job in New York as a result of the article, and gives him a dog. Ave initially declines, reminding her that two boys were killed because he refused to give up; however, she leaves him with the dog. Despite his protests, Ave soon accepts her.
