Ben Hunter received two oddly connected gifts for his 12th birthday. One was a room given to him by his parents — to use as an art studio — and the other was a letter from his uncle inviting him to visit. The last time he and his Uncle Ian (also an artist) were together, Ben was injured in a woodworking accident and lost his little finger. When Ben and his mother arrive at Uncle Ian’s home in Oregon, the relatives work hard at reconstructing relationships and crafting new ones with Uncle Ian’s pregnant wife and some local kids. When Ben feels responsible for one child’s accidental fall, he builds him a tree house as a gift (inspired by one of his uncle’s sketches). After he returns home, Ben starts renovating his “birthday room” into a guest room as a “gift” to his reconciled relatives.