Nothing has been the same in David's family since their mother and father separated. David's mother has gone into a deep depression, barely able to get dressed in the morning. David finds himself taking care of his sister, Laura, making sure she has supper and making sure she gets to bed on time. His father, John, has moved out and now has a new girlfriend, Kathleen, who David resents. One weekend, while they are visiting their father in his new apartment, John announces David and Laura are going to spend the summer with their Aunt Jennifer, a cook book writer on the west coast. When they arrive in Vancouver, Aunt Jennifer and her friend Paul immediately whisk them away via float plane to Bliss Cove in Desolation Sound. After some initial adjustment, they begin to enjoy their stay with Aunt Jennifer. David, relieved he doesn't have to parent Laura anymore, begins to relax for the first time in months. He makes friends with another boy on the island, Matthew. David, however, frequently has difficulty not worrying about his mother and thoughts of her keep interfering with his happiness. David's father decides to come to visit them. Unfortunately, John decides to also bring Kathleen. Tension builds between the kids and the father and between Jennifer and John until one evening Aunt Jennifer and John have a heated discussion about the children. David overhears them debating whether the kids should return with John and whether their mother's depression is genetic or not. David decides the only way out is to run away. He wakes up Laura and the two head out on their own. They use Drifter McGee's dinghy to row out to Dragon Island where David plans to hide in the caves Paul showed him. They hide there overnight. Meanwhile, Jennifer has discovered the kids are missing. Overnight both her and John had reconsidered their plans, but the missing kids send them all in a panic. Back at Dragon Island, Laura falls from a cliff in an attempt to return to the dinghy. David bravely retrieves the sleeping bags from the boat and returns to stand vigil with this sister. They build a fire. The fire is seen by Paul and they are finally rescued. John tells the kids he made a mistake. The kids will stay with their Aunt. Their mother will also come out and hopefully the stay will help her recovery. Aunt Jennifer reveals that the feared gene which might pass on their mother's illness doesn't exist since their grandfather wasn't really their grandfather. Kathleen returns home, her future in the family unsure. Paul and Jennifer announce their intention to marry. The family appears to be taking the first steps towards healing.

James, a 14-year old boy, lives in San Francisco with his parents who are entomologists. The year is 1906, before the great San Francisco earthquake. James' parents decide to move to Victoria, B.C. The want James to precede them so he can start school. He is booked passage on The Valencia. James, however, is haunted by dreams of drowning and imminent disaster. Despite his foreshadowing, he boards the boat and heads north. He befriends another boy, Alexander, and they become companions on the ship. A storm hits and The Valencia is tossed around very badly. James' feelings of doom intensify. A heavy fog sets in, slowing the ship down and forcing the crew to navigate by "deep reckoning". However, The Valencia hits a reef and is grounded off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Despite being able to see the coast, the storm makes it impossible to reach. James and Alexander try to get to shore on a small lifeboat, perilously risking their lives. They do make shore and run along a path to a lighthouse, the keeper of which sends for help. In the end, only 15 people are rescued from the 165 people on-board.