Nach dem Tod seiner Eltern ziehen David und seine Schwester zu ihren Großeltern. Gleich in der ersten Nacht hört er ein seltsames Geräusch, schleicht sich in den Keller und sieht seinen Großvater, wie er im Begriff ist, eine unbekannte Frau auszuweiden. Eine unachtsame Bewegung verrät David, und Sekunden später spürt er die kalte Klinge eines Messers in seinem verängstigten Körper und... erwacht schweißgebadet. Die Geschichte hätte hier enden können, wäre die Realität nicht weitaus schlimmer als Davids Albtraum gewesen.
The series centres on three brothers, nicknamed Toughy (wants to be a soldier), Smarty (clever), and Mouse (likes cheese). Their real names are not revealed. Presumably orphaned (their parents are never seen or mentioned), they have lived with a succession of different people – 'some nice and some nasty, but no-one who they liked in particular'. Being boisterous, adventurous and imaginative, they are regularly in trouble and consequently resent their situation. Eventually they decide to run away to sea. After escaping, they hitch a ride courtesy of the bizarre Elderly Boy in his converted lifeboat. They eventually arrive on an apparently uninhabited island, where the Elderly Boy abandons them, and they set up home.[1] After a while they discover that the island is home to the eccentric grasshopper expert Cornelius Button and his feisty housekeeper Lupus. After making friends with their new neighbours, they join forces with them to defeat the unsavoury Doctor Hopper, who wants to destroy Button's reputation and seize Grasshopper Island. Afterwards, they decide to stay on Grasshopper Island permanently.
