After a man named James holds his son for the first time, he realizes that the boy is very little, but this doesn’t stop him from being a very good father. Over the years, his son, Pepper, grows slightly older, and he takes James to be his best friend.

They spend most of their time together and enjoy doing the same things, even though his mother, Emma, often thinks they play too much. James’ other son, London, also spends most of his time training, so that the Army can enlist him for the war.

Unfortunately, London doesn’t get accepted into the U.S. Army, and he’s devastated by this. Meanwhile, Pepper and his dad are at a store where James admires a pair of boots. As Pepper asks if they’ll be buying it, James says he’ll come for it later, because he doesn’t have the money yet.

When they get home, they see a frustrated London, who explains what happened to his dad.

While at dinner that night, London struggles to eat anything, and he eventually leaves the table. Pepper also realizes what happened, and he looks scared because it means James will have to represent his family as a volunteer for the U.S. Army in the war against Japan. Pepper doesn’t seem to like this, and he starts crying because his dad will leave the next day.

The following day, James says goodbye to his family and tells London not to blame himself for anything. He then shares a warm embrace with Pepper, who can’t help but follow his dad to the entrance of the truck taking him to the army base.

James hugs his son again, before he goes into the truck and leaves for the war.

Days later, Emma takes Pepper to see a doctor named Fox, who is trying to figure out why Pepper hasn’t grown taller. Pepper asks if he’s a midget, but Fox says he shouldn’t think about that because only people with dwarfism are called that.

Emma then tells Fox that his son, Freddy, is responsible for insulting her son in such a way. Even though Fox says he’ll talk to his son, Pepper doesn’t seem to like it because it will only make Freddy bully him.

As they keep talking, Fox asks when James will be coming back, and as Emma and Pepper say he should be back by summer, the doctor doesn’t look too pleased. It turns out that Fox is interested in taking James’ position as Emma’s husband, because he likes her.

After a while, and because it’s almost close to Summer, Pepper gets his brother to give him some money, and after he gets it, he goes to a store to buy James his favorite boot as a present for when he returns.

He also buys two tickets to a magic show so that he and his father can watch it together. Meanwhile, an officer of the U.S. Army arrives at James’ house to tell Emma that her husband, has been taken as a hostage by the enemy soldiers.

He, however, says he’s not sure if James is still alive or dead. After the man leaves, Emma is left devastated by this, and she also informs London.

On his way back home, Pepper gets bullied by Freddy for telling his dad about the name he used to call him. He also tosses around the boots Pepper bought for James. After a while of getting humiliated, Pepper is soon allowed to leave.

He gets home only to see Emma and London looking sad. As he asks what happened, Emma tells him the truth and hugs him.

Days later, Pepper becomes really sad, and he also spends most of his time alone. Because the magic show he planned to go to with James is also happening later that day, Emma begs London to take him instead. London agrees, but as they get to the show, he finds it really boring, so he steps out.

The magician, Ben, comes on stage and says he needs a volunteer for a magic trick. Even though he doesn’t raise his hands, Pepper is called to the stage. Ben then mentions that Pepper will be performing the magic trick instead of him.

Pepper doesn’t think it’s a good idea because everyone will make fun of him, and Freddy also jokes about how he thinks the little boy will fail to perform the right trick.

However, Ben tells Pepper to ignore what everyone is saying. After appearing to cast a spell on Pepper, Ben tells the little boy to pull a bottle closer to him from the far end of a table. Even though Pepper doesn’t think he can do it, Ben encourages him, and after a while, he gets it done, leaving everyone shocked.

The next day, while he’s at a church with Emma and London, Pepper hears a priest named Crispin talking about what people can do for their loved ones, who are fighting in the war.

He says that if they can have faith as little as a mustard seed, they’ll be able to move a mountain. He adds that if moving a mountain is possible, then it’s also possible that they can help end the war.

Pepper takes this literally and goes to a store to get a mustard seed. On his way out, he bumps into a Japanese man named Hashimoto. He then goes to inform London and a man named Sam that there’s a Japanese man in the nearby store. They then head over there and stop the store owner from selling anything to him, because they see him as an enemy whose country is currently at war with theirs.

However, the town’s priest, Father Oliver, shows up and says Hashimoto is with him, and that everything they bought should be packed.

Later that day, Sam tells London and Pepper that he hates the Japanese people because they killed his son in the war. As he looks really sad, Pepper says he wishes he could beat up every Japanese person he sees.

That night, London then takes Pepper to Hashimoto’s house, and together, they throw stones at the house, until it breaks a glass on the door. Unfortunately, London is sent to prison as a punishment for this, while Pepper only gets to go to a church to ask for forgiveness.

When he’s done with what he came for, Pepper goes to see Crispin and Oliver to tell them he’s through.

He then asks Crispin about what he said the other day, regarding the ability to move a mountain with a mustard seed. He shows Crispin that he now has a mustard seed, but the priest tells him it doesn’t work like that.

Pepper asks if he needs Ben’s type of magic to move the mountain, but Crispin says he was only talking about faith. Despite the explanation, Pepper doesn’t seem to understand what Crispin is saying, so Oliver says he’ll handle it.

Just then, Oliver tells Pepper to show the power he talked about by moving a bottle on the table. Pepper is unable to do it, but Oliver moves the bottle for him. Oliver then says it’s how faith works, and that even though Pepper didn’t use any power, the bottle still moved.

He adds that anything can happen as long as it’s God’s will. As Pepper still asks about faith, Oliver brings out a list and tells the little boy to complete some tasks to help improve his faith.

Oliver also adds one last thing to the list, but as Pepper sees it, he doesn’t like it because the priest wants him to be friends with Hashimoto. However, he agrees to do it if it means his father will return. As Oliver then mentions that James will return if it’s God’s will, Pepper says that since nothing is impossible, he’ll try to finish the list so that his father can come back soon.

To start off with the list, Pepper goes to Hashimoto’s house to say sorry for what happened the other day. However, Hashimoto doesn’t seem too interested. Pepper tells Oliver about this, and the priest suggests that he give Hashimoto a gift.

The next day, Pepper buys a bottle of soda and takes it to Hashimoto, but he throws it into the trash. He tells Oliver about it again, and the priest tells him to try to hang out with Hashimoto.

He then goes to Hashimoto’s house, and after it turns out that Oliver has called Hashimoto, he agrees to hang out with Pepper. They eventually enter a store to buy ice cream, but the shop owner only sells to Pepper.

When they get outside, though, Hashimoto takes it from Pepper, saying it’s been long since he had ice cream.

Pepper then asks if he can cross Hashimoto off his list, and this leaves the man surprised to see that Oliver gave the little boy the list as a way to bring his father back.

While they’re hanging out together, Hashimoto tells Oliver it’s a bad idea to give Pepper the list, but the priest says if it’s God’s will, James will return. Hashimoto then says he hopes Oliver’s plan doesn’t mess with Pepper’s mind.

The next day, Oliver has to leave town urgently, but Pepper meets him before he leaves. Even though Pepper says he has crossed off Hashimoto from the list, Oliver tells him to continue being friends with the man until there’s no hate in his eyes anymore. He also says he’ll continue helping Pepper with the list when he returns from his trip.

Pepper then goes to see London to tell him that he’s working on bringing James back. However, London sees the list and thinks it’s a bad idea to be friends with Hashimoto.

As Pepper leaves, Freddy tries to bully him, but Hashimoto is around, so he helps him leave the scene. Pepper soon gets home, only to see Emma crying, and this makes him go to Hashimoto’s house the next day.

He tells Hashimoto to help him with the list, and the man agrees. He then helps Pepper cross off a few things by visiting a sick person, providing shelter for a homeless person, and getting clothes for a baby.

The next day, Fox brings Freddy over to Emma’s house to show sympathy over what he heard about James. After he says what he has to say, he gets Emma to invite him for dinner, even though Pepper doesn’t like this.

Fox also gets London released, and he thanks the doctor for helping. However, Fox says he did it for Emma. Shortly after, Freddy asks to be excused, and after he leaves the table, he goes to Pepper’s room. Pepper sees him and immediately tries to challenge him, but Freddy takes his list and threatens to beat up him if he tries anything funny.

Later that day, Pepper tells Hashimoto about this. Hashimoto tells him to go and get his list back, but Pepper says he’s too small to fight Freddy. However, Hashimoto tells him a story of how a small soldier beat up a strong Samurai.

With this, Pepper gets the courage to face Freddy, who gets angry and tears up the list. After he also pushes Pepper to the ground, Pepper gets angry and takes his revenge, leaving everyone shocked.

The next day, Pepper looks at the things left on his list, and Emma tells him to bring a friend home for lunch, so he can cross off the task of feeding the hungry. Pepper invites Hashimoto to the house, but Emma looks confused. However, Pepper says Hashimoto is his friend. Emma then welcomes him in, and after a while, the three of them talk about Hashimoto’s family while they eat.

Suddenly, London returns home and looks shocked to see Hashimoto in the house. He immediately goes to get a gun and threatens to kill Hashimoto, but Emma stops him and lets the man leave the house.

Pepper follows Hashimoto out of the house, but it doesn’t take long before London and Sam come over to harass him again. Pepper tries to stop London, but his brother says he needs to stop hanging out with Hashimoto, if he really wants to bring their dad back.

London also implies that it’s impossible for the list to work, but Pepper says he can do a lot of things with his faith, even if it means moving a mountain. London then shows his brother a nearby mountain and tells him to move it.

Hashimoto tells Pepper not to do anything because London is only trying to embarrass him, but the little boy insists that he can do it.

As he struggles to get the mountain to move like he did with the bottle at Ben’s show, an earthquake hits the town, and everyone is shocked because they believe Pepper caused it. Oliver also returns and is told about this.

Meanwhile, Pepper sees a letter from the White House, saying that all the soldiers will return home only when the war ends.

He goes to meet Hashimoto to ask where Japan is, and as Pepper hears that it’s just in the direction of the sun, he says he wants to try to do something to end the war. Hashimoto decides to be honest with him, and says that completing the things on the list might not bring James back. Pepper asks if it means he should stop, but Hashimoto says he needs to do things that make sense.

However, this doesn’t stop Pepper from trying to use the power he thinks he has in the direction of the sun, so that the war can end. Everyone in the town sees him as he keeps trying it every day, until he gets tired.

Days later, while he’s riding his bike, Pepper is stopped by a group of people who tell him that whatever he did has worked, because the U.S. Army just dropped a bomb that wiped out a part of Japan, and put them in control of the war, which might soon end.

He looks happy to hear this, but when he gets home, Emma says it might not be a good thing for American hostages, because the Japanese people might kill them.

Later that night, London and Sam head to Hashimoto’s house to beat him up as revenge, for what happened to Sam’s son and all those who have died in the war. After Sam hurts Hashimoto so badly that he’s dying, he runs out of the house.

However, London feels sorry for Hashimoto and decides to take him to the hospital, even though it means he’ll be arrested for assault.

Pepper and Emma go to the hospital to see Hashimoto, but Oliver tells them that his friend’s condition is only getting worse. As Pepper then checks his list, he sees that there’s a task for him to bury the dead.

This leaves him terrified, and after he sees Hashimoto still unconscious, Pepper starts to realize that he might either bury his dad, or his new friend.

Days later, an officer of the U.S. Army comes to the house to see Emma. He says that reports from Japan are that James is dead. This leaves her devastated, and London also feels terrible about the news.

Pepper also cries a lot, and at James’ funeral service, he has to be consoled by Emma.

The next day, Hashimoto appears to have recovered, and he meets with Pepper while the little boy is sitting alone. Pepper says he can’t believe he thought he could use the list to bring back his father, but Hashimoto says it only showed how much he loved James.

Hashimoto also adds that the list proves he was willing to do whatever it took to bring James back. With this, Pepper goes to James’ tombstone and drops the list there.

The next day, Emma takes Pepper to see Fox about his inability to grow taller.

Fox says he has some theories about what’s happening to Pepper, and that he can come over to their house later to discuss it. However, Emma tells him that even though he’s a good man, she won’t ever think of marrying someone else after James.

Fox doesn’t look happy to hear this, but he takes it well.

Days later, Emma gets a visitor from the U.S. Army who tells her that James is still alive. It turns out that even though he was shot after the U.S. Army invaded the village, where he was being held hostage, someone else stole his boots.

After the person got killed, the tag on the boots were found to be for James, and that was why they thought he was the one who died. Emma looks very relieved, and London also goes to tell Pepper that his list worked.

As they then prepare to leave for the hospital where James is being treated, after all the trauma he suffered in the war, Pepper sees that London helped him get new boots for their father.

He thanks his brother for this, and after a while, they get to the hospital.

When they finally meet again, James looks very happy to see Pepper, and they hug each other, after which Emma and London also come over to join them.

After a while, James eventually gets better and returns home, with his family.