Twelve-year-old Carla is grieving when she arrives at the Galapagos, where she mutates into an "Island" to survive.

Twelve-year-old Carla is grieving and speechless when she arrives at the Galapagos Islands and realizes she must mutate to survive. She thus becomes an "Island" and, imitating the iguanas, learns to cling to the rocks, wait, plunge, and emerge to tell her story.