On a summer morning at the turn of the 20th century, three teenage boys are sent away from home in a sailboat by their enigmatic father. The boys encounter all the traditional seafaring evils--fog, storms, sharks--and more, including a colorful array of seedy characters and a devastating hurricane that leads to a tense and fascinating dinouement. Many years later, Sybil, their descendant, researches the story and finally comes up with an explanation for this mysterious event in her family`s history. Caputo`s novel details both the boys` journey, which proceeds along the American east coast to Cuba, and Sybil`s quest for the truth behind it.