Emmett's family moves from New York to Ohio in the midst of Emmett's grief over the death of his pet pig, King Emmett. King Emmett had been kept on a farm, which Emmett used to visit, but he has gone the way of all pigs. Emmett is angry with his parents as they had not told him. Emmett begins to notice other pets and finally decides to get a new one - a dog called King Emmett the Second, or King, for short.