In 1967, an Indo-Canadian businessman took the unprecedented step of shipping an Indian elephant – a sacred Hindu symbol of prosperity – to small-town Nova Scotia to serve as a Centennial mascot for his new lumberyard. No one was more in awe of the exotic creature than young Winton Cook, who did his best to care for the shamefully neglected beast through a bitter Maritime winter. Combining painterly animation, archival photographs and old home-movies, this heart-rending NFB film evokes themes of friendship and loss, illustrating the inescapable impact of childhood trauma and confronting our collective failure to ensure the well-being of animals.