Molly Stewart is now a successful freelance photographer in New York, and after seeing a familiar woman at an art gallery, begins to suspect that she might be her long missing mother. Following her trail to Los Angeles, Molly finds herself in the center of a major crime syndicate who will stop at nothing to execute their diabolical plans.

The eponymous Dusty is an appropriately named dingo, or wild dog. Roaming the fertile fields of Australia, Dusty is captured as a puppy. Though dingoes are normally averse to human companionship, Dusty attaches himself to an old, worn-out shepherd, played by Bill Kerr. The dog gives Kerr a reason for living, and vice versa. Be sure to have plenty of Kleenex handy for some of the mistier passages of Dusty.