On a journey to San Francisco| Richard| his father and cousin Emmeline find themselves on a ship about to explode. Rushed to a lifeboat with Paddy Button| the two children escape while their father (and uncle) are on another lifeboat. In the chaos following| the lifeboats are separated. Paddy| Richard and Emmeline find themselves with no food and no water stuck in the middle of nowhere. After some time| the three come across an uncharted paradise| where Paddy quickly teaches the children fishing| hunting and building. After maybe a month or two| Paddy gets very drunk off a barrel of rum found on the island when they first arrive| and drowns in the middle of the night. Emmeline and Richard| now alone and very scared| move location and rebuild their island home. Many years later| the two young teenagers have developed a very real home| but hormones and feelings between the two strain their friendship| until Richard| who is still very determined to reach San Francisco| is let down by ...