Mr Ross lives on an island where no visitors come. He stops people from taking photographs of him. He is young and rich, but he looks sad. And there is one room in his house which is always locked. Carol Sanders and her mother come to the island to work for Mr Ross. Carol soon decides that there is something very strange about Mr Ross. Where did he get his money from? How can a young man buy an island? So she watches, and she listens — and one night she learns what is behind the locked door.

When Black Beauty is trained to carry a rider on his back, or to pull a carriage behind him, he finds it hard at first. But he is lucky — his first home is a good one, where his owners are kind people, who would never be cruel to a horse. But in the nineteenth century many people were cruel to their horses, whipping them and beating them, and using them like machines until they dropped dead. Black Beauty soon finds this out, and as he describes his life, he has many terrible stories to tell.

Suddenly, there was a high voice screaming in the darkness: Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! It was Long John Silver's parrot, Captain Flint! I turned to run... But young Jim Hawkins does not escape from the pirates this time. Will he and his friends find the treasure before the pirates do? Will they escape from the island, and sail back to England with a ship full of gold?

An adventure thriller. Who is the running girl who pushes a cassette of film into Pete`s hand in the shopping mall? His curiosity piqued, Pete takes the pictures to be developed and the mystery deepens.