After taking a fascinating field trip to a sanctuary for retired chimpanzees, third grader Marty McGuire is incredibly inspired. She wants to be just like the famous scientist Jane Goodall and help care for these amazing animals. However, adopting and feeding a chimpanzee costs a lot of money. To raise the necessary funds, Marty and her best friends decide to organize a huge school talent show. To earn even more cash, she opens up a neighborhood pet-sitting business right in her own basement. It seems like the perfect plan, until the cages start filling up with a lazy boa constrictor, an insanely energetic hamster, and a foul-mouthed parrot that refuses to behave. Marty quickly realizes that wrangling a basement full of wild personalities is much harder than she ever imagined. With the talent show approaching and the animals causing absolute chaos, she must figure out a way to regain control before her brilliant charity project completely falls apart.