With little food and even fewer financial resources, the crew resorts to robbing lobster pots and piracy to sustain themselves for the duration of the voyage.  The eight teens spend the summer racing millionaire yachtsmen, listening to tales from an old sailor, surviving hurricane-force winds, and nearly dying in a search for hidden treasure. In the process they discover that leadership is earned, not imposed, and that friendship, true love, and loyalty are the most valuable treasures of all.

By summer's end, the crew has been betrayed by one of their own. Their piracy and deception has been uncovered.   But the lessons learned and the friendships earned lead them to return to harbor not as individuals, but as a real team of leaders.  This classic coming-of-age novel, set in a fresh and novel location, featuring teens facing and overcoming modern-yet-universal obstacles is a winner by all counts.  Though it is Michael Robert Evan's first novel, readers - certainly this one - will wait eagerly for his next.