After being falsely accused of killing a man, sixteen-year-old Jodie Brown hightails it out of town and ends up on a moored houseboat in post-Civil War Florida. Sheriff Pennyfellow and his posse try to chase him down, but Jodie makes for the river-and the adventure of a lifetime He nearly freezes to death during an ice storm, but the Rollinses, a kind, elderly couple, save his life. The three embark down the river in search of buried treasure, and when they find a pirate's chest of gold and jewels, Jodie's fortunes take an unbelievable turn. He decides to stay on the river and see where it...

After being falsely accused of killing a man, sixteen-year-old Jodie Brown hightails it out of town and ends up on a moored houseboat in post-Civil War Florida. Sheriff Pennyfellow and his posse try to chase him down, but Jodie makes for the river-and the adventure of a lifetime He nearly freezes to death during an ice storm, but the Rollinses, a kind, elderly couple, save his life. The three embark down the river in search of buried treasure, and when they find a pirate's chest of gold and jewels, Jodie's fortunes take an unbelievable turn. He decides to stay on the river and see where it...