Felix Thurstan and Muriel Ellis have set sail on the Australasian, an ocean liner that would take them from Australia to San Francisco. However, one evening, as they stand on deck, a great wave pounds against the ocean liner. Muriel Ellis is thrown overboard and in his gentlemanly way, Felix jumps in after her. Unfortunately, the rescue boat that they sent out cannot find them, and thus are they stranded on a tropical island. Now they must survive living in the wilderness without any signs of modern civilization -- and worse still, on an island inhabited by cannibalistic savages!

Grant Allen was a noted author and upholder of the evolution doctrine. His book The Woman Who Did scandalized the population due to the fact that a woman in the novel had a child out of wedlock. He is also known for pioneering Canadian science fiction as well as mystery fiction.