Far away in the middle of the sea there is an island shaped like a giraffe. Nine-year-old Vega lives there with her father and grandfather – a gardener and former ringmaster. Their shed – the Paraphenalium – is filled with every possible thing you didn’t know you needed. Vega’s bathroom is home to a gray bear with shampoo-lathered fur, and every day she talks with the asphalt beaver and crosswalk zebra on the way to school. Her best friend is Nelson, who observes things others don’t notice and keeps a notebook of mysteries and facts. Vega and Nelson set out to save Vega’s father and find her mother in a search that leads them to a unique circus and unexpected answers.