In the eighteenth century sixteen-year-old John Spencer sails from England in his schooner, the Dragon, to the Caribbean, where he and the crew encounter pirates, fierce storms, fever, and a strange man who some fear may be cursed. There's pirates in the West Indies. Cannibals. They cook you alive, says Mr. Spencer to his son. These words will haunt 17-year-old John Spencer as he embarks on his first voyage to foreign lands. Carrying cargo destined for Jamaica, John and his Dragon crew set off from London for waters few of them have sailed. So when they come upon a lifeboat adrift at sea, some are wary of the sailor aboard. His name is Horn, and something about his story doesn't quite make sense. Still, John respects the stranger's awe-inspiring seamanship. With Horn on deck, both John and the ship's captain believe the Dragon is in the best of hands. But is Horn to be trusted? Is he a good-luck charm as he claims to be? The answers become muddled as the Dragon encounters a very real -- and dangerous -- pirate ship. And soon after, John is stranded on an island reputed to conceal buried treasure. An island teeming with buccaneers!