The story revolves around twelve-year-old Sam Gribley (Teddy Eccles), a devotee of Thoreau (as many were back in the 1960s<ref name="Koslow1984"></ref><ref name="Cain2000"></ref>). He decides to leave Toronto to spend time alone in the Canada woods to see if he can make it as a self-sufficient spirit after his parents' promised summer trip doesn't pan out. He also wants to work on an algae experiment while he is there.