America and her ships may change, but the Monroe boys are always drawn to the sea. Young Thomas Monroe was bred for the sea. At his first chance he sets off on a merchant's ship, but Thomas gets more of an adventure than he'd expected when his ship is captured by the pirates whose treasure map he stole! He somehow must keep himself and his captain alive, and beat the pirates to their treasure. Meanwhile, hundreds of years in the future, Jim Monroe-Thomas' descendant-is also in desperate need of that treasure, or he and his mother will lose the family land. Embark on this thrilling tale of piracy and derring-do, Douglas Wilson's first foray into children's fiction.