An exciting story with dyslexia as a theme. Oliver is considered backwards at school by his soon-to-retire teacher. Reading, spelling, maths all come hard to him, and school is a misery. He acquires a sheep dog puppy, much to his parents' dismay, and the puppy turns out to have disabilities too, being blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. After a summer of hard training, Flow is coming along nicely, and Oliver enters him in the local show. However, they do not perform well, and Oliver comes to feel that both he and his dog are failures. In an exciting climax, he and Flow save his friend Craig, who is injured out on the fells. There is hope, too, when the new teacher recognises Oliver's dyslexia for what it is. Good on the hurtful teasing Oliver experiences at school and on his supportive family.