In 1749, pirate captain Giddy Gilcox and the crew of the Rogue Flattery commandeer a Spanish galley, intent on plundering its cargo, killing all aboard, and scuttling the ship.
Gilcox discovers, however, that the ship's hold is filled with human cargo--African tribal people, enslaved workers bound for Spanish America. Gilcox's crew bristles--they've heard stories of Black Sam Bellamy meeting his death after overtaking a slave ship.
Later, Gilcox captures not only a fortune in gold but also Helen Tanner and her young son. Upon reaching Block Island, the pirates anchor the Rogue Flattery and bury their treasure, but the feeling of dread from the Spanish slave ship haunts Gilcox.
Could the spirit of the slave ship be responsible for the nor'easter that blows in as they prepare to leave the island?
Building on Block Island's history of pirate legend and lore, Tucker has created a story at once thrilling and poignant, full of evocative language, as mystical and magical as Block Island itself.