Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of a 12-year-old boy (Jared Gilman) at scout camp who falls in love with a local 12-year-old girl (Kara Hayward). When the two make a secret pact and run away together into the wilderness, the camp staff and their parents are thrown into a panic.

As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore—and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.