Jayne Atkinson

When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.

When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.

Bullied by his siblings and nagged by his parents, 11-year-old Preston is fed up with his family -- especially their frugality. But he gets his chance to teach them a lesson when a money-laundering criminal nearly bulldozes Preston with his car and gives the boy a blank check as compensation. Preston makes the check out for $1 million and goes on a spending spree he'll never forget. Maybe now, his family will take him seriously!

Jesse becomes reunited with Willy three years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.