A writer turns up unexpectedly at the door of Pi Patel, whose extraordinary life would apparently make a great novel.

In flashback, Pi recounts his youth as the son of a circus owner, who decided to sell the family business and emigrate to the west.

During the journey by sea, a raging storm causes the ship to overturn and the young Pi escapes in a lifeboat along with a zebra, orang-utan, hyena and a tiger named Richard Parker.