Summary
During the American Civil War, five prisoners of war — engineer Cyrus Smith, his servant Neb, journalist Gideon Spilett, sailor Pencroft, and the young boy Harbert — escape from Richmond, Virginia in a hot air balloon.
A storm carries them far over the Pacific Ocean, eventually crashing on an uncharted island.
Stranded, the group must rely on ingenuity, scientific knowledge, and teamwork to survive.
They name their new home Lincoln Island, and with Cyrus Smith’s engineering expertise, they build a remarkably advanced colony — complete with running water, brickworks, telegraph lines, and even nitroglycerin.
However, the island is full of mysteries: unexpected rescues, unexplainable events, and the eerie feeling that someone — or something — is watching over them.
Over time, they discover signs of a hidden benefactor who seems to be aiding them secretly.
The story reaches its climax with the dramatic reveal of Captain Nemo, the enigmatic antihero from Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, who has been living in hiding within his submarine Nautilus, entombed inside a cavern beneath the island. Old and dying, Nemo offers the castaways his knowledge before the island itself is threatened by volcanic destruction.