Teenager Angus McCormick (Jesse Bradford) hits it off with a stray Labrador dog, whom he names Yellow. Although his parents are not initially keen to take on another mouth to feed, this all changes when Angus and his father John (Bruce Davison) go on a boat trip exploring the beautiful coastline of British Columbia. The boat capsizes during a bad storm and, while Angus father is picked up by rescuers, the boy and dog are washed ashore and must survive together in the uncharted forests. Although resourceful and trained by his father to survive in the wilderness, Angus has to survive battling the elements, the terrain and wild animals in his efforts to get them both safely home. Meanwhile his parents wait fretfully for any news of their son from the rescue teams scouring the area