In 1975, Tom Michell is just another typical 23-year-old who loves to travel. The Englishman makes his way to Argentina, where he finds work at a boarding school. Between looking after kids with rich parents and preparing for classes, he takes side tripsaround the region. One such journey, this time to Uruguay, changes his life forever.
While in Uruguay, Michell comes across a poor penguin on the shoreline. Covered in oil from a recent spill , the bird is knocking on death’s door. In fact, hundreds of penguins have already died in the spill. This one, it seems, is the only one left alive.
Michell cleans the bird up and saves his life. He tries returning the bird back to his natural home—the sea. The penguin, though, is having none of it. Michell saved his life, and now the two are bound to one another, like characters in an old Western movie.
Michell manages to smugglethe penguin—whom he has named Juan Salvador (Spanish for “John who saves”)—back to the boarding school in Argentina. At first, it’s just him and Juan, figuring things out like new roommates. But word quickly gets out. Before long, Juan is the star attractionof the school.
