Book Description

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Jean Lafitte was a privateer, pirate and an American hero. Lafitte was well-educated and a very savvy businessman. Lafitte operated his very profitable privateering business from Barataria Island in Louisiana. His primary commodity was slaves, who were sold to sugar and rice plantations in America. He became a national hero during the War of 1812, when he used his tactical knowledge of the bayous to defend New Orleans and defeat the British. According to legend, upon his death he left behind a great treasure hidden in the bayou. Two centuries later, Snail Cali and his family are enjoying an end of the school year cookout, when his father Carmine announces that he and his wife Elaine are retiring and will be heading to Louisiana to assist in rescue efforts brought on by an early-season hurricane. A week after they leave, Snail and his girlfriend Teri decide they are going to join them and set off for Louisiana. Fortunately, Snail and Teri meet up with NCIS agents Moki and Kopi, friends from Hawaii who are in New Orleans on assignment. They help them locate Snail's parents in the bayou. Meanwhile, Carmine and Elaine are experiencing a series of unusual events. They rescue a black panther caught in a bear trap, who is about to give birth. Carmine thinks he sees an apparition, and while diving, he encounters a vicious bull shark. What they do not realize is that their long-time nemesis Mr. Chang has reappeared a year after everyone thought he perished in the Great Dismal Swamp while fleeing from police in North Carolina. Chang recruits some locals in the bayou to help him scare the Cali family. Chang is also interested in finding Lafitte's lost treasure. However, he meets his match when he attempts to manipulate a Voodoo Bokor, a woman with exceptional powers.