When aspiring medical student Lucas Ray (Jonah Hauer-King) finds a stray puppy, he immediately falls in love with her. He brings her home to the apartment he shares with his disabled veteran mother (Ashley Judd), who's suffering from PTSD. Because the apartment has a no pets rule, he keeps the puppy, whom he's named Bella, hidden from the neighbors.
As she grows bigger, he brings her to the Veterans Hospital where he works. Bella brings joy and comfort to the patients.
However, when Pit Bulls are banned in Denver, Bella, a German Shepherd/Staffordshire mix, is picked up by Animal Control and taken to a shelter. Distraught by the separation, Bella runs away and sets off across 400 miles of dangerous Colorado wilderness to return home.
Based on the book of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron.