Dragons in the Waters opens at the port of Charleston, South Carolina, but much of the action occurs aboard the Orion. The setting moves from civilization into the savagery of the Venezuelan jungle, and finally to the idyllic village of the Quiztanos, where a tribal people live in harmony with the land and water around them.

Flashback scenes and stories-withinstories tell of the poverty-stricken life Simon and his Aunt Leonis led in South Carolina. These stories bring out keen memories of the Civil War and the bitter effects of Reconstruction in the South.

The true story of Quentin Phair's adventures with Bolivar in South America also unfolds through the words of those whom Simon meets in Venezuela. Truth and imagination continually interact, and the reader must learn to discern between the two just as Simon must learn to distinguish his fantasies from reality.

Although none of the events...