What does a band of shipwrecked sailors do to survive a winter in Anarctica? They build igloos, burn whale oil for heat and light, they hunt seals for food and try to avoid being eaten by polar bears (that shouldn't have been there), and they establish a pecking order. Thus it was, in the mid 1800's, that Captain Amos Madigan tried everything to maintain order, find food for a few desperate survivors and pray for a rescue. But when it failed to arrive, he attempted the impossible; build a ship out of nothing and sail it to Africa. Could he do it? He alone seemed to think so and his pistol assured a following, however few and puny.