Long ago and far out at sea, a family experienced an unfortunate tragedy when a tropical storm tore their ship to pieces. The mother was lost, but the father and daughter drifted on a piece of the ship until they came upon an uncharted island. There they lived upon coconuts, bananas, clams, and oysters.

Luckily, a few cases of clothes, pieces of the ship, and other items from the shipwreck had washed ashore. From the pieces of the ship and from tree branches and vines, the father was able to build a makeshift shelter to live in.

The father taught his daughter Tanara how to build fires and make spears. Unfortunately, after only a short time, the father became ill and died, leaving young Tanara all alone.

It became necessary for Tanara to sometimes forage the forest for food. On one such occasion, she had been moving quietly through the trees when she heard a noise behind her. She spun around just in time to see a leopard leaping from a tree. With instant reflex, she speared the leopard between the ribs and shoulder. The leopard couldn't move. However, Tanara did not finish off the leopard. Instead, she carefully nursed the leopard back to health.

From that point on, the leopard loved Tanara and never left her side. She named the leopard Gar, short for guardian. With Gar by her side, she roamed the forest freely and without fear.

She learned many things from the forest and the animals. She could hunt as stealthily as a tiger, and climb and move through trees as easily as monkeys. She could command the animals who obeyed her because they feared her jungle skills, her spear, and her guardian leopard. She was truly a jungle queen.

After Tanara grew to womanhood, it happened that a group of nature explorers came upon Tanara's Island and decided to study it. But one young man by the name of Nate wandered off from his group and soon found himself surrounded by a pack of hungry hyenas. One of the hyenas attacked Nate, but suddenly, Tanara dropped from the trees and speared the hyena. Gar leaped into the middle of the pack and began tearing the hyenas to pieces. They saved Nate's life.

Nate helped Tanara relearn her language. They fell in love. Nate took Tanara to civilization, but Tanara didn't like it there. She felt that people were too cold. They lie, cheat, hurt, and kill one another. She felt that the jungle, even with the wild animals, was safer and more peaceful. Nate and Tanara returned to the jungle, and there they lived and raised a family.