Fourth-grader Calvin flies from Oahu to the big island of Hawaii to go on a deep-sea fishing trip with Ledward, his mother's boyfriend, and learns to appreciate other living creatures-- especially one enormous marlin.

Calvin tries to earn money to buy Stella, the babysitter, a present for her sixteenth birthday because he feels guilty for taking advantage of her allergy to cats.

Fourth-grader Cal learns a lot about teasing and standing up for others when a weird new student joins his class, while Stella, the tenth-grader who lives with Cal's family to help his mother, practices for her driving test.