Jack is an eleven-year-old boy who lives with his father in what’s left of the old River Zoo, a small town that owes its best years to the adventures of Archibald Trotterworld. Jack’s mother died when he was born so he has always been alone with his father. Alone? No, not alone, surrounded by the remaining animals at the zoo.
One day, Jack realizes he can understand the toothless Lion. “Sure I can talk to you,” the Lion tells him. He’s been listening to humans all his life, sooner or later he was going to learn the language, wasn’t he. But the old town of River is no longer – not nearly – what it had been. Old Archibald had died and in his place had come a rich and ruthless man, Brick Mattone, who has no interest in preserving Archibald’s legacy.