A young orphan is sent to the village of Moonfleet in Dorset, England to stay with his mother's former lover, who has the facade of a gentleman but leads a gang of swashbuckling bootleggers; the duo go on a treasure hunt.

Somewhere in 18th-century Great Britain, noble but penniless young boy John Mohune is sent by his dying mother to Moonfleet to put himself under the protection of a certain Mr. Jeremy Fox. The boy discovers that Fox is both a former lover of his mother and the leader of a gang of buccaneers. A strange friendship grows as their adventures continue.—Yepok