It is 1849 in Belize. Tosh's father discovers a priceless Mayan medallion, and that is what causes it all: His father's death when the sociopath Isandro Torrico demands Macintosh take him to it; his mother hiding the medallion in a pouch with a false back, admonishing Tosh never to take it off; the hurricane that sinks their ship and, as she calls hopelessly to him from a boat in the storm tossed sea, separates them forever; his struggle to survive alone in a dinghy that carries him to Galveston Island; his rejection of Faun and her urchin colony who tests his morals; his stumbling into the sympathy of Mrs. Finwitty and the loving generosity of her cook, the enslaved Attibel; the power of simple goodness taught to him by old Deuteronomy, a Free Negro; the unearned trust extended to him by Fallini the joyful baker and Hawk the faithful saddle maker; the sweet joy of the urchin Arabella's friendship; and the disorienting confusion caused by Molly Pryor, so much like his momma that she stokes fear in his mind and yearning in his heart until he learns to trust her. Then Isandro Torrico arrives in Galveston in search of an embezzlement opportunity. He is slow to recognize Tosh as the boy who escaped him with his mother in Belize. When he realizes who Tosh is, and what he possesses, he becomes mad with lust for the priceless artifact and will do anything to have it....