The book introduces us to young captain Townsend a navy captain helping with the aftermath of the civil war. His ship is caught in a hurricane but survives though he sees another ship that doesn’t. The crew tried to escape leaving men in the cargo hold to die. Townsend enters the ship to find one man not yet dead who tells how all of them got there. Haunted by what he saw he wants to know the whole story and so do I. Can’t wait to read what happens next.