William Legrand becomes obsessed with searching for treasure after being bitten by a bug appearing to be made of pure gold. He notifies his closest friend, the narrator, telling him to immediately come visit him at his home on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina. Upon the narrator's arrival, Legrand informs him that they are embarking upon a search for lost treasure along with his African-American servant Jupiter. The narrator has intense doubt and questions whether Legrand, who has recently lost his fortune, has gone insane.

This book is not about religion, but rather about spirituality. It is about how to find and know God-often in spite of religion. It explains our need for spiritual nourishment in order to achieve spiritual health. It explains how the lack of spiritual health can lead to despair and spiritual death. It shows how we are taught not to believe in God-the source of spiritual nourishment. In the absence of an interactive relationship with God, we default to inadequate worldly substitutes. There are those who believe that what God wants from us is obedience through religious conformity. In truth, he wants a personal relationship with each of us, not for his benefit, but for ours. Unfortunately, as you'll come to see, the United States in the present day is perhaps the most difficult time and place in the history of human-kind for people to maintain their spiritual health. The time will come when the only thing you can take from this life is your relationship, if you have one, with God. If this book holds no interest for you now, put it on a shelf and pull it down when its relevance is inescapable.