Sometime later in Washington, Jesse, a young 13-year-old boy who has been on the streets since he was abandoned by his mother six years before, gets caught by the police for stealing food and vandalizing a theme park, along with a group member of three other abandoned children. However, his social worker Dwight helps him avoid legal consequences by placing him in a foster home and provided he cleans up the mess at the park. While there, Jesse befriends Willy, the orca that was caught earlier and has a collapsed dorsal fin. He is amazed by Willy who obeys his commands, something the trainer, Rae Lindley had failed to do. Over time, Jesse and Willy become the best of friends, and Jesse earns a long-term job at the marina while learning to live with his new and supportive foster parents, Glen and Annie Greenwood.