Vivian and Rich Somners' Caribbean vacation turns into the ultimate fantasy when they discover a fortune of gold doubloons spread off the beach of an outer island called Whistling Cay. For Vivian, this sweetest of dreams morphs into a nightmare when the next day Rich and the gold vanish. Is his disappearance a result of a kidnapping, or is it an act of selfish abandonment? She's certain of the former, but not so are the police, the press, and nearly all the populace of the Virgin Islands. Vivian soon faces a seemingly endless chain reaction of ordeals, though she remains obsessed with saving a beloved husband she alone refuses to fear.