A massive novel of the American Revolution, told from the seaman's viewpoint. Tim Bennett is a crewman on an American privateer, sailing from New England to the Bahamas, lying in wait for the mighty British fleet. Like sharks, the Americans attacked the enemy's larger ships in battle after battle, scouring the seas in pursuit of liberty.

At home in the war-ravaged colonies, gentle Lucy waited for Tim. In languarous Cap Francois, there was always Jeanette, the perverse, exquisite Creole, to whom freedom was a synonym for licentiousness.