 Joe, Sam and Fred Are celebrating Joe s Birthday when he receives a present from his Uncle Joe. It is beautiful book with a cryptic warning of  Be careful what you wish for . Soon the boys are transported through time to the 18th century and find themselves prisoners of Blackbeard the pirate. Blackbeard is very clever and when they are all captured by the British Navy the boys must convince the court that they are not the Terrible Tripoli Trio as Blackbeard has dubbed them. They must get out of this predicament and search for the book which is their only hope of getting back to their time.