In Depression-era Detroit, Gordy and Ira, one African-American and one German-Jewish, bond over a shared interest in boxing as America awaits the rematch between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling.
While nursing a broken arm, almost twelve-year-old adoptee Coop, with the help of his grandfather and friend Zandi, unwaveringly cares for and protects Hop, a baby mockingbird born with one wing.