Thanks to her Aunt Grace, the writer, Lily knows many interesting words like "flummoxed", "delirious", and "melancholy". Lily's teacher gives her a journal and the challenge to start writing her own stories. Lily can't quite make the stories work out. They start and end nowhere. Only Aunt Grace knows stories. Until Rex arrives, formerly a magician's dog, Rex is ready to inspire and push Lily to her creative limits. Soon, Lily realizes Rex isn't any old pooch.