American Dick Saunders has just been transferred to Tokyo after a two year stint in Manila. His wife Mary Saunders has accompanied him on the pretense to set up their home, with their adolescent son Tony Saunders arriving on a flight two weeks later. Dick requested the transfer to escape the source of marital strife between him and Mary, namely another woman, that being the real reason for their need for time alone without Tony. Mary has decided to take Tony back to the US with her instead. Their marital problems take a back seat upon learning that Tony's flight, facing mechanical problems, is lost somewhere en route in they forced to land somewhere in the middle of the ocean. They are relieved to learn that while he was separated from the main group of passengers, Tony, alive, was picked up by a small family operated Japanese fishing boat, they based 500km away from Tokyo. Taken care of by the Japanese family, the Tanakas, Tony befriends their similarly aged son, Hiko Tanaka, the only one among the three in the family who speaks any English. But when Hiko overhears his father saying that he will be contacting the police about Tony, Hiko and Tony run away in equating police with having done something bad, meaning Tony going to jail. So while Dick and Mary make their way to the fishing village, the two boys try to make their way to Tokyo to reunite Tony with his parents. However, what two adolescent boys believe is making their way to Tokyo 500km away may not always be reality as they try to survive with what little they brought with them.