1677 - snatched from an Irish village by Barbary corsairs, 17-year-old Hector Lynch finds himself in a bewildering world where life is cheap and only the quick-witted survive. Befriended by fellow captive Dan, they escape horrors of the slave barracks by converting to Islam; then serving abroad a Turkish ship, their vessel is sunk at sea. Condemned to further slavery and chained to the oar bench of a French gallery, Hector is driven by the need to find out what happened to his sister, Elizabeth, who was also kidnapped by the corsairs. He learns the chilling truth when he and his colourful brand of brothers are shipwrecked off the coast of Morocco...