Just before sunset, a tiny turtle emerges alone from the sand. He immediately realises something important is missing. His shell! While investigating himself, he catches sight of the sparkling sea and longs to go to it, but first, he must find his shell.

While trying not to get eaten, he finds himself explaining his predicament to a peckish pelican, a slippery seal, a burrowing beach mouse, and a huffy hermit crab, who teaches him how to find a new shell.

With the support of his unlikely new friends, the tiny turtle makes his way to the sea with a new shell and dives into the breaking waves.

Soon after, the tiny turtle answers a call for help from a shell-less slimy sea snail clinging to a rock. The tiny turtle plucks the sea snail from the rock and tucks him into his new shell, telling him not to worry, he knows exactly what to do about the sea snail's predicament.