This is a sad, but enjoyable movie. This movie, like The Champ, shows Ricky's excellent acting abilities at a very young age, he was ten years old when this movie was made. And don't let the long list of stars fool you, shortly into the movie no one is left except William Holden and Ricky Schroeder, everyone else has only a small part in setting up the plot.
 William Holden plays Patrick Foley, a man who is dying of cancer and returning to the deep Outback of Australia where he grew up, intending to take nothing with him except himself and his memories. Ricky Schroeder plays Shawn Daley, a city boy on vacation with his parents in the outback.
 Shawn's parents are killed in an accident and Shawn is left along in the very unforgiving Outback, but somehow finds Patrick. Patrick knows he does not have enough time left to take Shawn back to civilization, and tries to get the boy to work North on his own, but Shawn will not leave the only human he can find. Patrick reluctantly lets the boy tag along, and along the way gives the boy a crash course in survival in the Outback. Patrick is not gentle in the lessons, nor does he show much understanding of how the boy feels, but Shawn still manages to teach the old man something along the way. Shawn gives Patrick a lesson in love.