In the midst of Hurricane Isla, 9-year-old Gus experiences fear, excitement, and adventure, both because of the hurricane but also because of four stories of adventure and fantasy his great grandfather not only wrote but also swore were true. A mind-reading dragon with a weight problem, a talking tree, and two most unlikely young adventurers, Willie G Soon and Joey Perch, are just some of the characters that inhabit the remarkable and humorous world of Ranatanland.
But it all becomes real when his grandfather begins to read the stories, Gus is magically transported to Ranatanland to take part in Willie G and Joey's adventures.
As Gus and his grandparents huddle in their wood-frame house to wait out the hurricane, one question haunts young Gus: Could the stories possibly be true? It is a question that is not answered until Gus tries to follow the steps his great grandfather took so many years ago.