 Inexperienced campers Tom and Eddie accept an offer to go camping with Eddie s friend, Danny, and his father, Dr. Bob Lockwood, whose prime purpose for camping is to build character. While Tom just wants to relax and have a good time, Bob treats camp like the army, Danny being a private, and Tom and Eddie only privates in training. During their trip, Bob is called away back to the city on a medical emergency, leaving Tom and the boys to fend for themselves. While Danny and Eddie play hide and go seek, Danny gets lost. Tom and Eddie manage to find Danny, who admits it was all his fault since he did everything that a good camper should not. Tom did something wrong as well: he lost his compass and is also now lost. The threesome manage to stumble back to the campsite just as Bob returns. Considering the time during his absence to be a total debacle, Bob chastises all three and decides they should pack it in and go home early. Tom, who doesn t really care if Bob doesn t like him, does care about Eddie and Danny s weekend and more importantly Danny s welfare. Although Tom and Bob don t agree on anything, Bob does finally come to the conclusion that Danny may not respect him and is only scared of him when Danny continually calls him sir instead of Dad. The dynamic between father and son Lockwood is now changed from that of officer/charge to father/son.