Pieces of Eight

Young Skylar Brocklin wants to have an adventure more than anything. He lives with his parents on a beautiful Caribbean island but thinks life there is boring. That all changes one day after a hurricane roars through and he finds a gold coin on the beach. He befriends an old mountaineer named Jack Bonnier, better known to islanders as Mad Jack, who has had a lifetime of adventures in the mountains and now just wants to drink and relax. Skylar is astonished when learns his new friend climbed Mount Everest. Mad Jack tells him a story about a Spanish galleon carrying doubloons and pieces of eight that supposedly sank off the island centuries ago. The tale fires Skylar's imagination and need for adventure, and he convinces Mad Jack to help him hunt for the sunken treasure. Skylar's mother has heard frightening stories about Mad Jack and orders Skylar to stay away from him but he disobeys her. She has a heart problem that worries him. She won't seek treatment because the family can't afford it, but if Skylar can find the treasure, she can get the help she needs. His parents consider selling the house to pay for her medical help but put that possibility on hold when Skylar's grandfather dies. After Skylar's mother learns what happened to Mad Jack on the world's second-highest mountain, she relents and lets Skylar join him in their search. As Skylar's friendship with the old man grows, he glimpses what the adult world looks like and uncovers a lifetime of buried memories.