Thirteen-year-old Josh McCullen expects an adventure when he joins his twelve friends on a boating trip along the Pacific coast, but he never anticipates being lost at sea. In the midst of their trip, the boys are caught in a storm that blows them away from the shore-and now they have no idea which direction leads to land.
Alone in the unforgiving elements, the boys are faced with critical choices as they try to find land before their limited supply of food and water runs out. Once they reach land, the youngsters survive for a whole week by catching fish with a homemade fishing pole and hunting deer and rabbits with a hand-carved bow and arrows. But troubles mount as the boys encounter hostile natives, including Zemanu, who wants to sacrifice them to "the Great One."
In a grand escape, the boys overcome Zemanu and flee the island, but troubles and struggles follow them to a second, and then a third island! Eventually, Josh taps into his inner strength to take command of the young crew after several tragedies, but he has to lead them through their final challenges, including a winner-take-all confrontation with Zemanu!
