10-year-old Winifred "Winnie" Foster is frustrated with her family because they keep her cooped up in the house, and considers running away from her home in rural Treegap. One day, while in a wooded area her family owns, she sees a boy of about 17 years old drinking from a spring. He introduces himself as Jesse Tuck, tells her that he is 104 years old, and tells her not to drink the spring water. Soon after, his brother Miles and his mother Mae take her away with them. On the way, they are pursued by a man in a yellow suit, who had approached the Fosters asking questions about their land the day before.