The sailor thought he had seen the inside of Hell in Vietnam when men slaughtered each other without pity. Later, as a First Officer of the cargo vessel, Sarah Star, Sam Provost often stared death in the face. As the mindlessly cruel sea rose up on it's wicked winds and tore at his ship and killed his crew, he had not really plundered the depth of human depravity until he was forced to go ashore and do battle with cunning company lawyers, rich robber barons and ruthless assassins. His merciless enemy in Nam and the man-killing sea seemed like child's play compared to men driven by their unbridled lust for raw power and money. He wasn't ready for the onslaught of agony hurled at him by the land-living creatures who hid their evil deeds behind the trees and under the rocks of laws seemingly fashioned by Dickensonian masters of deceit.