A Mr. Dixwell Hardley approaches Tom with a proposition to help recover sunken treasure.

Unfortunately for Tom, after agreeing to the expedition, he learns that Mr. Hardley is a con-artist, who recently scammed someone out of the oil well rights.

Making matters worse, the victim is Barton Keith, a relative of Mary Nestor.

Rather than cancel the expedition, Tom decides to carry on in the hopes of restoring Mr. Keith's claims to the oil wells.

In the episode entitled "Home" of the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire, the character Jimmy Darmody is given a copy of Tom Swift and His Undersea Search by a fellow veteran Richard Harrow.