During the American Civil war, five men:, Captain Cyrus Smith, an engineer; Gédéon (Gideon) Spilett, a reporter; Pencroff a sailor; Harbert (Herbert), a student; Nab (Neb) a cook and Smith's dog Top escape the siege of Richmond, Virginia by balloon. The balloon was launched during a great storm; the wind from the storm blows the balloon and its six passengers on a 6,000 mile journey. They manage to make it to an island, which they determine is in the South Pacific Ocean. Everyone is accounted for except their natural leader Smith and his dog. The engineer and his dog are found under mysterious circumstances, but it is just the first of the island's many mysteries.