North, age 11, excels in almost everything he does, and as such is appreciated by everyone he knows--except his parents, who are too absorbed in their own lives to pay North any attention. This neglect leads to North starting to suffer in all his activities. Feeling that there is a more supportive life for him somewhere else, North, with the support of his best friend Winchell and ambulance-chasing lawyer Arthur Belt, goes about legally divorcing himself from his parents. The judge's July 1 ruling is that he is giving North the ability to do so, but that he must be in the arms of his chosen parents by 12:00 on Labor Day, or else be sent to live in an orphanage. So North travels the globe auditioning one set of potential parents after another, learning life lessons along the way, usually being watched over by a guardian angel who first appears to him in the form of a shopping-center Easter Bunny. As North discards those potential parents pair by pair, he is unaware of what is happening back at home, where Winchell, with Bent by his side, is working on his own agenda, blocking North's parents from contacting him, the result possibly being to relegate North to an orphanage for the remainder of his childhood.