Along with their friends Laura and Brian, Tom and Mitch Hearn are on boardthe Rakurai, in search of the mysterious Dragon Island. Mitch is chargedwith being the ship's captain, but his decisions are making Tom furious. Thisis no time for a family feud, however, especially when they are attacked bypirates, and then Brian disappears! Worse yet, the Rakurai seems to beheaded on a different course - one that leads them right into the hands oftheir arch nemesis, Julian Vane.