内容简介：
Benito Gomez, a poor peasant boy from Spain, signs on to go to the New World. His father, Ignacio, is paralyzed from a fall while letting the sails out on a ship. Benito now must bring money into the home to feed his family of eight. Only fourteen years old, he must quickly become a man. The San Esteban, Espiritu Santos, Santa Maria de Yciar, and San Andres sail from Spain to San Juan de Ulua, Mexico. On their return trip to Spain, they are caught in a hurricane and pushed deep into the Gulf of Mexico. The San Esteban shipwrecks on the island the Indians call aIsla de Blanca, a or White Island. Young Benito clings onto a wooden plank as he drifts to the island. Alone and lost in the New World, he watches in horror as his fellow crewmembers are massacred by the Karankawas, a cannibalistic tribe. His only hope is to reach a mission that he heard of from the first mate, Eduardo.