1796: Lieutenant John Pearce is going home aboard a hospital ship crammed with human cargo. But added to the difficulties of insufficient ballast to match the heavy swells of the Mediterranean in midwinter, Pearce must also avoid capture by an Algerine warship. His problems soon mount when in attempting to steer his disparate band of friends, the Pelicans, clear of being pressed into service aboard a British frigate, the group risk being hanged for...