Shortly after he gets the perfect dog, Riley, eleven-year-old William must fight for his dog's life after Riley is taken away because he chases and injures an elderly neighbor's old horse.
After having been marooned on an island for ten days, Catherine and William are finally rescued and brought aboard a pirate ship that is captained by a woman who takes a liking to William and forbids Catherine, his true love, from seeing him.
Upon her mother's death, fifteen-year-old Catherine puts her courage and strength to the test by disguising herself as a boy to join her father, a pirate captain, on a ship whose crew includes men who are trying to steal a treasure from him.
