Trama

Tintin gets more than he bargained for when he buys a model of a sailing ship for Capt. Haddock that the seaman finds is unexpectedly familiar.

Tintin buys an old model ship at a flea market as a present for his friend, Captain Haddock, but when the Captain starts telling him about the exploits of a famous ancestor and several other men have their eyes on the model and will do anything to have it for their own, our hero learns it's no ordinary ship.—Hailey-7

Tintin buys a model ship at the market, which will be given to his friend Haddock as a gift. When Haddock sees the model, he was thrilled that it's a model of the ship which his ancestor Sir Francis Haddock once sailed in. Tintin learns from the Captain on the story behind the ship which is called the Unicorn. It was raided by pirates led by Red Rackham who own his own stash of treasure that was never recovered after the Unicorn sank to the bottom of the ocean. Sir Francis Haddock was the only person who knew the location of the treasure and made three identical ships that each hold a secret to how to find the location of the treasure. It's Haddock's own right to reclaim his family fortune and it gives him and Tintin a new quest to go on. Only to discover that someone else is after the treasure besides them.—J LeGault

Pick pocket activity is on the rise in Brussels. The pick pocket is extremely skilled and has so far not been identified. The pick pocket specializes in stealing men's wallets. Detective Thompsons have been assigned to bring the man to justice. Remarkably, the Thompsons themselves have been picked and have had their wallets stolen multiple times so far.

Whilst browsing in a market in Brussels, Tintin purchases an old model ship for $20 which he wishes to give to his friend Captain Haddock as a gift. Two strangers, the model ship collector Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine and a mysterious figure known as Barnaby, then unsuccessfully try to independently convince Tintin to sell the model to them. Ivan and Barnaby get into a bidding war to acquire the model, but Tintin refuses to budge even though the bids reach $100. Ivan meets Tintin at his flat and leaves his address if he changes his mind.

Returning with the model to his flat, Snowy knocks it over and its mainmast is broken. Repairing it, and showing the ship to Haddock, the latter is amazed that it is actually a model of the Unicorn, a 17th-century warship captained by his ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock. Haddock takes Tintin to his flat where he has a painting of his Sir Francis, with the picture of the Unicorn in the background.

The model ship is subsequently stolen from Tintin's flat. Tintin obviously suspects Ivan and Barnaby to be the thieves. Tintin goes to Ivan's address and finds an identical model in his possession. Ivan claims that he has possessed this model for over 10 years. It is revealed that Sakharine owns an identical but different model of the Unicorn. This was proven since the mast of Ivan's model was not broken or repaired. Although Ivan's model is also soon stolen.

Returning to his flat, Tintin finds that it has been ransacked but he finds it strange that nothing has been stolen from his place. The Thompsons arrive and inform Tintin that they had seen a man lurking around his flat when he had gone with Haddock. The man matched the description of Barnaby. Tintin discovers a rolled-up parchment hidden under furniture, on which is a part of a riddle that points to the location of treasure, and he realizes that this must have been hidden in the mast of the model which Snowy had broken.

Informing Haddock about the riddle, the captain tells him that he found Sir Francis's journal. The journal describes how Sir Francis Haddock battled with the pirate Red Rackham somewhere in the West Indies in 1676. The Unicorn could not outrun the pirate ship, so allowed it to get closer and then attacked it with guns. The guns were not enough to sink the pirate ship, who not boarded the Unicorn. Despite a spirited fight, the crew of the Unicorn is taken captive by Red Rackham. Red Rackham is forced to occupy the Unicorn as his own ship is now beyond repair and sinks. Red Rackham transfer all his treasure to the Unicorn.

That night, the Unicorn dropped anchor off the coast of a deserted Island. Sir Francis escapes captivity and kills Red Rackham in single combat. He then blows up his ship after escaping. Haddock gets somewhat carried away in his telling of the story: destroying his flat while re-enacting the battle scenes. Haddock says that Sir Francis lived on the Island for 2 years before being rescued. He left each of his 3 sons a model of the Unicorn with an instruction to move the mast to complete the truth. Tintin deduces from the riddle that there are 3 models of the ship and each model's mast has a parchment. The 3 parchments together will reveal the location of the treasure. He now understands that the thief took the model for the parchment and came back to the flat when they did not find the parchment in the mast of Tintin's model.