Stan Russell has a rebellious but honorable soul and good scotch appears his only vice. His service in a foreign war leads him on a mission to heal. Putting college behind his youthful curiosity leads him to Key West and a vintage schooner captained by a benevolent old mariner. His ladies, one a lovely exiled Cuban determined to aid her homeland and then yet another not so saintly, help steer Stan through intrigue from the islands to the mainland and back. All the while turbulent political winds carry him from Key West to Cartejena and the Windwards north. Strained relationships with his country force illicit actions ordained by honorable intentions. A dark dream later pervades the days and nights of this now far from ordinary pirate. Always on the run, death is forever gaining in his wake.