The sun is hot on the top of Charles' head, dry sand burns against his bare feet and the thrumming of waves pounding against the beach fills the air. It is summer vacation and eight-year-old Charles is running through the sand dune paths with his cousin Felicity when they fall down the side of a gully into the past. Their parents and siblings are nowhere to be found and in their place is a world of wild animals they have never seen before. The cousins explore this untamed landscape of giant snakes, strange fish, and the eerie cries of endangered shorebirds. A magical scientist appears and helps them learn about the animals. He warns them something less friendly is headed their direction, but then he disappears and Charles and Felicity have to race through the sand dunes to find their way back to their own time before it catches them.