Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Dave Matthews and Eva Marie Saint star in this family-friendly story of hope, healing and a young girl’s summer of discovery!

Ten-year-old Opal is in a bad way. Her mom abandoned the family when she was three-years-old. Her father, a preacher, refuses to answer her questions about his estranged wife and because of that, the relationship between Opal and “Preacher,” as she calls him, is strained. As if that weren’t bad enough, Preacher has gotten a job in a small Florida town and uprooted Opal from the life she’s familiar with, her school and all her friends.

Now, living in a trailer park and a long, hot summer ahead, Opal sees nothing but sadness in the faces of the people in her new town of sleepy Naomi, Florida, a place of lost hope and broken dreams. They seem to have forgotten how to experience joy, how to share happiness. Because of that, Preacher has his work cut out for him, as he must find a way to attract worshipers and bring together a congregation that has grown apart, all while coming to terms with the emptiness of his own life.

Feeling lost, Opal could easily fit right in with the despair of the town. But when her father sends her to the supermarket to pick up a few items, she meets a new friend, and that encounter sets her on a magical path of healing and hope, and restored happiness for all the people she befriends along the way.

In the store a big, scruffy, stray dog is wreaking havoc, and the manager is bent on calling the local pound to come pick up the goofy critter. Opal rushes to the rescue claiming the dog as hers and names him Winn-Dixie after the supermarket he’d just run amok in. The dog has the unique ability to smile, and has an endearing effect on everyone he meets. Soon, Opal and Winn-Dixie bond, and are involved in the sagas of some of the most eccentric characters in town, opening their hearts, introducing wonder and delight back into their lives. But there’s still one relationship in dire need of repair—between Opal and her aloof father. Can an odd, smiling dog open Preacher’s eyes to a daughter who desperately needs his love?