When eleven-year-old Hailey and her friend Kyle make a wish on a Chinese lion statue, they accidentally bring a dragon to life.

Scared at first, the kids soon realize that Zhu the dragon means them no harm, and they show the dragon around their city. It's all fun and games until Animal Control gets wind of a wild creature on the loose. The kids have to find a way to send their new friend back home before she's taken away.