Five children escape from a Children's Home, run away and steal a boat, which they sail around the Outer Hebrides. The book had a huge print run from London Methuen, but their warehouses were bombed in 1940 in Paternoster Row; 5 million books were lost in the fires caused by tens of thousands of incendiary bombs. Consequently, there were very few copies in circulation. This is the resurrection of a successful children's adventure story.