When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place. While exploring, he meets another boy whose circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.