During the American Civil War, five Northerners escape by hot air balloon from a city held by the Southerners. However, they get caught in a storm and end up on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean.
How will they manage to survive there without the goods provided by civilization? In what way will the mysterious force that seems to be watching over them contribute to the prosperity of their "colony," imposing its will in various ways?
What role will a journey to a neighboring island, where they find a destitute castaway, play in their ultimate salvation?
In this novel, cherished by many generations of readers, Jules Verne celebrates the human spirit while offering a wonderful adventure that is, in a way, a continuation of "The Children of Captain Grant" and also presents the end of the dark persona of Captain Nemo, the protagonist of the novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
