When Sam Sommers sees a “hobo” camping on the lot next to Grandpa Sommers’ garage, he tells his friends – The Bass Lake Bunch – about him. When Grandpa Sommers overhears the kids talking about "the hobo," he decides to check things out for himself. What he finds takes him back 35 years to Bass Lake’s heyday. The old man turns out to be an old friend of Grandpa Sommers who is searching for his long lost lake cottage. Grandpa Sommers refuses to help the old man because of something that happened a long time ago. The Bass Lake Bunch take it upon themselves to help the old man locate his missing cottage, in which something very valuable had been stashed. They also try to convince Grandpa Sommers to help the old man. In the process the whole group learns about forgiveness, and at the same time find something that has been missing for 35 years.