Home page featured image with caption

Here’s what I like to do and I hope you can tell me if it’s possible:

Have, on the home page and only on the home page, a featured or header image between the actual header and posts that is automatically cropped and displayed with caption. Preferably, with the ability to set the image from within the Dashboard.

I’ve looked at custom headers etc. but this would give me more than a need and I like to keep things as light and simple as possible. Also, the inclusion of the caption is critical and I haven’t found a plugin or tutorial that does this.

Advice?