Lawn Dogs

Devon Stockard, a precocious ten-year-old, moves with her parents into the gated community Camelot Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky. Recently recovering from open-heart surgery, she is urged to make friends and participate in a summer cookie sale. The move sets the stage for her longing to connect in a new environment.

While selling cookies outside the gates, Devon leaves her mother's instructions and meets Trent Burns, a landscaper who lives in a trailer in the woods and works in Camelot Gardens. At first she finds him annoying, but she continues visiting his property and gradually forms a friendship. Their bond begins to blur the lines of age and secrecy.

Trent asks Devon to keep their friendship secret because of their age difference. He worries about social repercussions and Devon agrees to keep quiet. The request plants a sense of danger and complicates their growing closeness.

While Trent works in Camelot Gardens, he has altercations with two young men who inhabit the area—Brett and Sean. Brett flirts with Devon's mother, while Sean flirts with Trent. The friction foreshadows trouble for everyone involved.

During a family barbecue, Devon finds her father's handgun in the SUV glove compartment. Brett notices Devon with the gun and makes an inappropriate advance toward her; she escapes and tells her parents. They are more concerned with social consequences than the incident, so Devon later softens her account.

Clare begins to notice Devon's growing friendship with Trent when he comes to do lawn work at their house and becomes alarmed. She worries about Devon's safety and the potential for gossip to spiral out of control. The tension adds pressure on Devon to keep her secret.

Brett and Sean vandalize Trent's lawnmower, pouring sugar into the fuel tank, and fight with him after accusing him of stealing CDs. The acts intensify the conflict around Devon's friendship and cast Trent in a negative light. The incident escalates the distrust between the adults and Trent.

Devon and Trent visit his mother and father, a Korean War veteran dying of a lung disease. After leaving their house, Trent and Devon go for a drive in the country, deepening their bond and exposing Devon to Trent's world beyond Camelot Gardens. The visit also raises the emotional stakes for both.

In a countryside drive, Devon insists that as best friends they can share their scars. She shows her surgical chest scar, and Trent reluctantly reveals his abdominal scar from a past shooting, which she touches. Afterward, they notice Sean's escaped dog and decide to chase it together.

While trying to chase Sean's dog in the truck, Devon and Trent end up accidentally running over Sean. Trent then kills the badly injured dog, despite Devon's pleas. Devon runs home in a panic, torn between fear and loyalty to Trent.

Concerned by Devon's frantic behavior, Clare and Morton push Devon to reveal what happened. They drive out to Trent's property with Devon, aided by Sean and the ex-cop Camelot Gardens security guard, to confront him. Devon sits in the car as Morton and Sean prepare to confront Trent.

Morton and Sean take turns beating Trent and accuse him of abusing Devon. As Morton raises a final blow, Devon exits the car with her father's gun and shoots Trent in the abdomen. Sean bleeds on the ground, and Devon tells Trent to leave, signaling the end of that confrontation.

Armed with her father's gun, Devon orders Morton to lift her up into the tree they had decorated with ribbons. She imagines a river and a forest rising behind Trent as he drives away, protecting him as he escapes.