The story of a nine-year-old Frankie and his mother Lizzie, who move from place to place all the time. The mother wants to protect her son from the truth, but the need to satisfy the curiosity of a boy makes Lizzie come up with a believable story - she regularly writes letters to Frankie on behalf of his fictional father who is allegedly sailing on a ship to exotic countries. Lizzie suddenly learns that the "father's" ship will come to their port in a few days. Now she must make a choice - to tell Frankie the truth or to decide on a desperate plan and find a perfect stranger to the role of a perfect father .