Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N.

During a routine Navy mission, Lieutenant Rob Crusoe is forced to eject from his F-8 Crusader after an emergency. He drifts in a life raft for days across the open ocean before washing ashore on an uninhabited island. He begins survival: securing fresh water, building a shelter, and crafting clothing from scavenged materials.

Crusoe fashions a shelter using debris and natural materials. He also makes new clothing from available resources to endure the island climate. He begins to scout the terrain, mapping resources and shelter locations.

While exploring, Crusoe uncovers an abandoned Japanese submarine buried on the shore. He delves into its corridors, cataloguing the craft and its remnants. The discovery expands his supply of tools and possibilities for life on the island.

Inside the submarine, Crusoe encounters Floyd, a NASA chimpanzee astronaut. The intelligent chimp forms an unlikely alliance with Crusoe, helping with problem-solving and morale. Floyd's presence adds an unexpected dimension to the castaway's survival.

Using tools and blueprints found aboard the submarine, Crusoe and Floyd construct a Japanese pavilion and even dig a playful golf course. They also devise a mail-delivery system, sending messages in bottles toward Crusoe's fiancée out to sea. The island becomes an improvised, curious civilization.

Crusoe meets a beautiful island girl, whom he names Wednesday. She explains she cannot marry, and her presence reveals a broader conflict on the island. The encounter introduces a personal stake in his solitude.

Wednesday recounts that her chieftain father Tanamashuhi plans to sacrifice her and her sisters to the island’s colossal effigy, Kaboona. The threat of ritual violence casts a shadow over Crusoe's growing refuge. The tension escalates as the island's leaders’ plans unfold.

On the day of Tanamashuhi's arrival, Crusoe uses paraphernalia from the submarine to confront the threat. He defeats the would-be sacrificers and destroys the giant Kaboona statue. The act ends the immediate danger and destabilizes the island's order.

Crusoe and Tanamashuhi reach a fragile peace, but Crusoe makes clear he does not wish to marry Wednesday. Fearing her wrath and the consequences of his defiance, he flees the island to avoid entangling himself in local customs. The conflict appears to move off-island as he departs.

Pursued by a mob of irate island women, Crusoe and Floyd are spotted by a U.S. Navy helicopter. They make a perilous escape aboard the helicopter and leave the island behind. The flight marks a transition from island solitude to life at sea.

Large crowds greet Crusoe and Floyd upon their arrival on an aircraft carrier deck. While Crusoe is relieved to be back, Floyd steals the limelight with his celebrity-like reception. The quirky chimp’s presence completes the memory of their island ordeal in the minds of the sailors.