Fourteen-year-old Jimmie would rather not go on vacation with his family, but unfortunately, he isn't given the choice. This year his parents have rented a cottage on Lake Canandaigua in Upstate New York. So, grudgingly, Jimmie puts on his headphones and climbs into the backseat of his mother's car. Once they arrive at the cottage, Jimmie rummages through the old upstairs attic and finds a captivating book about pirates, consequently discovering a new passion for reading. While immersed in the book, he meets an old-timer from the area who begins to tell him about the tiny island in the middle of Lake Canandaigua. Before long, the story of a boy named Philip Spencer and the mutiny of the SS Somers unfolds right before Jimmy's eyes, making this seemingly boring family vacation not so uneventful, in the legend of Squaw Mutiny on the SS Somers.