Brenna, one of the volunteers at the Wild at Heart animal clinic, is horrified to find a dog caught in a trap in the local nature preserve, but subsequent events prove that every story has two sides.
Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year of high school as an outcast for having busted an end-of-summer drinking party by calling the police--and, while struggling through the daily absurdity of high school, she gradually learns a truth about herself that will change her life forever.
Twins Jules and Josh are new in town, and while Josh quickly adapts, Jules accidentally makes an enemy of Maggie and adopts the class rabbit, Chewie, in an attempt to make herself feel better.
When their parents hire ponies to draw customers to their sidewalk sale, Jules and Josh are excited, but when the Vet Volunteers notice that the ponies don't seem healthy, they suspect that they have been mistreated.
Twelve-year-old David has conflicting feelings when his father, who taught him to ride the horses he loves so much, returns to spend Thanksgiving Day with the family after being gone for a year.
After assisting with her own cat's emergency surgery, Sunita decides she can no longer work with animals and accepts an internship at a lab, unaware that the research conducted there includes animal testing.
When he and the other volunteers at Dr. Mac's veterinary clinic go to help out at Quinn's Stables, David makes several serious mistakes and must prove he can be trusted before Mr. Quinn will let him even be around the spirited horse that David wants to ride.
Adjusting to middle school becomes easier for twelve-year-old Maggie when she finds that her biology teacher, who is blind, can learn a few things from her about working with his guide dog.