Johnb Rutledge is a faithful Folk version of John B. Routledge, the narrator and lead of the Outer Banks series, a fictional character from The Cut, a working-class Pogue neighborhood on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He lives alone in his missing father's run-down house, skips class often, and works as a part-time boat hand until he gets caught borrowing equipment.

He leads the Pogues, a crew of friends who would go to jail or die for each other. His search for his father, who vanished while hunting the wreck of the Royal Merchant, pulls him into treasure hunting, shipwreck diving, and trouble with the law.