Paddy teaches the children basic survival skills—hunting, fishing, and building—before he dies following a drunken binge. Left alone, the two children grow into teenagers in near-total isolation.

Young Richard and Emmeline are separated from Richard's father during a ship fire. They escape on a lifeboat with the ship's cook, Paddy Button, and eventually wash up on a deserted tropical island.

After years on the island, they see a ship—led by Richard's father—but choose not to signal for rescue, preferring their life in paradise. However, a later mishap leaves them oarless and drifting at sea in a small boat.