On April 4th, 1942, Phillip Enright boarded the S.S. Hato with his mom. Two days later, the Hato sunk. It was torpedoed by the Germans. Phillip was thrown overboard, and got hit in the head. Later, he found himself on a lifeboat with a black man about 70 years old. His name was Timothy. Phillip's mother has raised him to think that all black people were bad. Phillip did not want anything to do with Timothy, but Timothy was the only person there besides a cat named Stew Cat. Phillip learned to like black people, and he and Timothy became friends. Timothy taught Phillip many survival skills on the island or cay, such as building huts, and fishing. The two friends survived on the island together, until a hurricane struck the cay. Timothy did everything he could do to save Phillip. In that process, Timothy sadly passed away. Phillip learned to survive on the island by himself while being blinded by the sun earlier in the story. He used everything Timothy taught him, and a couple months later, Phillip was rescued, and returned home safely to his family.