When ten-year-old India Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida, with her preacher father, she doesn't know what to expect, least of all, that she'll adopt Winn-Dixie, a dog she names after the supermarket where they met. Opal is lonely at first, but with such an unusually friendly dog at her side, she makes some unusual friends and discovers she has a whole lot to be thankful for.