After the terrible experience of surviving the sinking of the ship Pequod, Ishmael goes to sea again in search of Moby Dick. He is Chief Mate aboard Pilgrim, captained by a man who is terrified of small boats and will not emulate Captain Ahab in sinking a harpoon iron into the white whale. Through calms and storms, Ishmael welds the crew into a formidable weapon against what he comes to see as not only an implacable foe but one that may not deserve the fate that he has been tasked to give it. Ishmael finds love from an unusual revelation aboard the ship that also makes the voyage one of intrigue and treachery as well as emotionally fulfilling for this man who has been named after the Biblical son of Abraham.