Swept off course by a raging storm, five Union prisoners escaping in a balloon from the siege of Richmond are set down on the shores of an uncharted island. Thus begins a classic fable of men face to face with nature in its most primitive state. With no tools but their own ingenuity and daring, the engineer, his faithful servant, a journalist, a sailor, and a lad of thirteen must undertake the extraordinary task of reconstructing the civilization that they have left behind.

The Mysterious Island is based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, a man stranded alone for five years on an island off the coast of Chile.