The story focuses on Kalani, or Ka, a girl from Brooklyn, who is moved away from her friends to a resort island, where she dislikes the stuffy atmosphere among the rich, so she escapes into the island's jungle. Ka comes across a vulture eating a dead monkey, and discovers that it's actually Vulture, a speaking bird, who takes on the responsibility of introducing Ka to the island's unique inhabitants, those that do not live at the resort. They come across Nick, an alcoholic fisherman, who nearly loses his hook because he's sleeping when a fish bites. Then, they meet Bum, who came to the island because he wanted a place to train for surfing competitions, and then never left and now has found two native baby-mamas that he takes care of by picking fruits from trees on the island. Bum shows Ka how to surf, with little success. Finally, they meet Cow, who is troubled by the fact that she is being stalked by a wildcat, and they all simultaneously run back to the resort, to avoid being the wildcat's snack. Ka insists on keeping Vulture with her as a pet.
—Anna Faktorovich