Square's Tom Sawyer is based on Mark Twain's 19th century book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and features many characters from that book. The plot takes place in 1855 on the Mississippi River in the fictional town of St. Peters, Missouri. The game begins with Tom. Sawyer had a dream that the pirate treasure was buried in a southern location. Aunt Polly woke Tom up the next morning. And Tom set out to find the treasure.