The lush beauty and splendor of a South Pacific paradise is vividly captures in this version of Henry deVere Stacpoole's 1903 novel. Two small children and a ship's cook survive a shipwreck and find safety on an idyllic tropical island. Soon, however, the cook dies and the young boy and girl are left on their own. Days become years and Emmeline (Brooke Shields) and Richard (Christopher Atkins) make a home for themselves surrounded by exotic creatures and nature's beauty. They learn to cope with the bewildering variety of physical and emotional changes that come with adolescence. And as they begin to mature, their childhood affections lead to a sensitive and more profound love and the birth of a child. But will they ever see civilization again?