A newlywed couple from France and a bond salesman starting a new life meet on the tarmac in Tahiti bound for the Marquesas Islands. The newlyweds, on a whim decide to visit the grave of a deceased rock star and the banker, hoping to become an artist, wants to visit the grave of Gaugin. A stormy plane crash near an uninhabited island results in only the banker and the bride surviving. The story is not a guide to survival nor a study of the effects of prolonged absence from civilization for over two years. I was disappointed in so much of the story being spent in day-to-day details as opposed to the development of the characters. Hand wrestling with a giant octopus, finding bathtub size water cisterns carved from basalt by ancient polynesians make this tale a light fantasy but one which is tinged with loss and sorrow.