A group of young friends spends a season on coastal bays hunting waterfowl and becomes entangled with local nighttime poachers who use heavy firearms. Their outings mix schoolroom interludes with daring nocturnal expeditions that reveal the poachers’ methods, violent confrontations, and the danger of pursuing illicit sport. The boys face treacherous marshes, a desperate swim for freedom, betrayals, and narrow escapes before a final resolution. The narrative emphasizes camaraderie, practical resourcefulness, and the moral and physical risks tied to frontier sport and illegal market hunting.