It is on one of those routine days going home that he finds at the Bedridge Station a puppy, who he eventually will learn was being shipped somewhere unknown, with the shipping tag lost. Several years earlier, Parker Wilson, who lives in Bedridge in suburban New York City, is a college music/performing arts professor, he who makes the train commute to/from the city every working day.
Eleven year old Robbie is giving an oral class report on the topic of 'My Hero', his chosen subject, Hachi, who on the surface is an unusual choice.