Escaping the dreary wet weather of 1930s England, the eccentric and bohemian Durrell family ship themselves off to the sun-drenched island of Corfu. With the help of larger-than-life local taxi-driver Spiro, they make themselves at home in a succession of different, fantastically coloured villas and revel in the joys of a life of freedom and adventure.

The ragtag family is headed by Mrs. Durrell, a middle-aged widow who gives in to the whims of her children. Her eldest son Larry, is a budding avant-garde writer with wild friends, while her second son, Leslie, is a gun-obsessed sportsman who shoots at everything in sight. Her only daughter, Margot, is a teen beauty who changes boyfriends as quickly as she does bathing suits, but it is the youngest, 12-year-old Gerald, who is the heart and soul of the story.

Spurning his mother's attempts to educate him, Gerald is captivated by the breathtaking creatures he discovers around him. As he watches the lives of the animal kingdom, Gerald learns how to read the antics of an altogether different group; his own family.