Six months on a whaler with a cruel captain and no land in sight is too much for Tom. When the vessel cruises into the primitive Marquesas, he and his friend jump ship. They plan to hide out with a peaceful tribe, but instead, they stumble into the encampment of the man-eating Typees. The fierce savages treat them with lavish good will -- but the runaways soon learn their benevoolent hosts are also their unyielding captors.