Nim Rusoe (Breslin) lives on a deserted island with her scientist father Jack (Butler) and her best friends: Selkie, a sea lion; Fred, a bearded dragon lizard; and Galileo, a plucky pelican. But when Jack goes missing at sea and the island is "invaded," Nim reaches out via e-mail to the adventurous author (Foster) of her favorite books, and together, each discovers what it takes to truly become the hero of your own life story.