Noi and his father live in a house by the sea. Noi's father works hard as a fisherman, and Noi often has only their six cats for company. So when, one day, he finds a baby whale washed up on the beach after a storm, Noi is excited and takes it home to care for it. He tries to keep his new friend a secret, but but there's only so long you can keep a whale in the bath without your dad finding out. Noi is eventually persuaded that the whale has to go back to the sea where it belongs, but now very much aware of his son's loneliness, his father helps and in the weeks that follow the whale's return, finds time to do more with him, be it colouring or going on a picnic. For Noi, even though he can't keep it, the arrival of the whale changes his life for the better - the perfect gift from one friend to another.