Professor Bullfinch and his friend Dr. Grimes argue about which has more practical knowledge—and decide to settle the question by having a competition. Each man will go to a desert island, where he must survive on his own with only basic materials. Danny is to go with Professor Bullfinch and his friend Joe with Dr. Grimes (Irene doesn’t appear in the first two books) to help keep score. Unfortunately, their small plane goes down in the Pacific before they can reach their planned destination, and suddenly the four find themselves stranded on a deserted island for real.