"This is the story Melville should have written."
--Daniel Pinkwater, author of The Neddiad

When a rough sailor called Ishmael turns up on a family's doorstep, even loyal dog Zeke knows that the news is ruinous.

Ishmael comes bearing the tragic tale of the Pequod: the whaling ship that fourteen-year-old Josiah's father served on as first mate. Ishmael presents himself as the sole survivor of the deadly journey, fatally lead by the vengeful Captain Ahab and his obsession with the legendary white whale, Moby Dick. But Josiah is not so certain his father's death was that simple. Especially when Ishmael looks so boldly at Josiah's devout Quaker mother.

Josiah is almost of age in Nantucket, and he still cherishes his dream of following in his father's footsteps. He is yet too young to sign on to a ship's crew, but he yearns to be at sea.

Yet adventure has a way of finding a boy and his dog. The true vision of his father's death--as well as the difficult tasks of surviving, growing up, and finding his strength--await Josiah, when he and Zeke discover the secrets of the Pequod at the mysterious Arch of Bone.