Dear Frankie

Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...

In Scotland, Lizzie is constantly moving from town to town with her nine year old son Frankie and her mother Nell escaping from her husband. Frankie is a very intelligent deaf boy, and the protective Lizzie invented that his father is a sailor of the vessel "ACCRA", traveling though the most different countries and permanently writing to Frankie, telling his adventures. Frankie tracks the route of the vessel in a map, and when the vessel is scheduled to arrive in their coastal town, Lizzie decides to hire a stranger to act as if he were Frankie's father for one day.