This is an exciting adventure set in 1874 on Washington's rugged Olympic peninsula. Nathan, 14, tries to unravel the mystery of a shipwreck and the captain's murder. With Lighthouse George, a Makah fisherman, the boy paddles canoes on delivery runs to the damp, inhospitable island of Tatoosh, where his father is the lighthouse keeper, and on hunting expeditions for whales and seals.

Curious about footprints found on a desolate beach near the shipwreck where all were supposedly lost, the boy explores the peninsula and encounters a shadowy figure brandishing a knife in a dark cave, a nervous local trader burying a small metal box, and a burial "ghost" canoe mounted high among tree branches facing the sea. When the boy's father receives a letter referring to a lost treasure map and the likelihood of foul play in the shipwreck, Nathan begins to piece together the truth.

In a climactic scene, he is threatened by the murderer, and Lighthouse George and an eccentric village outcast come to Nathan's rescue. A gallery of good, evil, eccentric, and misunderstood characters teaches him the meaning of friendship and enriches his appreciation of another culture. Dramatic, vivid descriptions of the Pacific landscape and Makah lifestyle and customs create a rich backdrop for Nathan's adventures and discoveries.