dennis pratt

a mentally challenged boy experiences the supernatural as he braves countless dangers, including a serial killer, to take his critically ill sister on an odyssey across the country to find dr. ned, a television character who the boy believes is the only man alive able to save his sister.

the dead and the living come together in a story of faith and redemption when a successful actor named johnny boyd and his wife, rita, lose their six year old daughter “scooter” to a serial killer. but scooter is unable to cross over and is a spiritual presence that only johnny can see. rita thinks johnny is losing his mind when she discovers his intent to help scooter cross over by killing himself.
meanwhile In a small florida town, a twelve year old mentally challenged boy named “uner,” a child’s mispronunciation of “junior,” is given the job of taking his little sister, sara, to their aunt in tallahassee. sara is gravely ill and her widowed father is counting on aunt isabelle to get her to the hospital in tallahassee where sarah can get the care she needs. the prognosis is not good, however, as the doctors inform aunt isabelle that sara will die. but, when uner sees a syndicated television show about a doctor, played by johnny boyd, who never seems to lose a patient, he decides that “dr ned” is the man to save his sister. when uner asks his aunt where he can find “dr. ned,” he is told that the man lives in hollywood. the incredible odyssey from florida to hollywood is both joyful and tragic with small miracles happening all around uner and sara as they encounter the best and the worst of the human condition.
arriving in hollywood, the boy and his sister meet donald, the man who murdered scooter and who now seeks redemption by helping uner and sara find dr. ned. when uner and sara are delivered to johnny’s front door in beverly hills, johnny discovers that uner can see his dead daughter and communicate with her. it is through uner that scooter and sara both will find their way into the light while johnny and rita’s love for each other is restored.