Lillian Jingu wants to be like every other all-American girl-to wear her hair long rather than in the China doll bob her mother insists upon. She hopes that by her tenth birthday, she'll get her way. And she's begged for a pair of fancy boots like the privileged debutants wear under their beaded gowns in the Battle of the Flowers Parade, or at least a glorious Stetson like her friend, Terrellita Maverick, sports. But being the youngest girl of eight children, she must be content with hand-me-downs. She and her little brother Kimi have begged for a puppy, but her parents say the garden is no place for a mutt. Naturally, she is thrilled when she unearths a strange egg by the koi pond. Tut Tut, the wise turtle who lives in the pond, explains that it may be more trouble than she bargained for. Undeterred, Lillian takes the egg home and keeps it warm, eagerly waiting for whatever is inside it to hatch. When her little brother, Kimi, finds her with the egg, Lillian lets him in on her secret. Despite her protests to the contrary, Kimi is convinced the egg holds a puppy. Soon, the egg hatches, and a strange lizard-like creature emerges. The Jingu children name him Kokoro, and the baby dragon proves a delightful pet, but they fear that should he be discovered, he'll be hauled away and caged like an animal in the Brackenridge Zoo. Their dilemma is solved with the discovery of a crack behind the waterfall leading to Jaloloquay, a land forgotten by time. At last, they have found a safe haven for Kokoro! But little do they know this discovery will lead to more adventures than they ever dreamed possible.