When young John Trenchard comes upon hidden treasure in the local crypt he is drawn in the sinister world of smugglers, who exercise their trade along the Dorset coast by the village of Moonfleet. Elzevir Block, innkeeper and master smuggler, takes the young man under his wing and soon John is leading a life more dangerous and thrilling than he could have imagined. But the law is closing in. Accused of murder, there is a price on John's head. The only option is to flee England at the cost of losing his sweetheart, Grace Maskew. . .