Set in the rich landscape of Colonial Cape Cod, this is the tale of the people and events that surround the eighteen-century wreck of the pirate ship Whydah. An impoverished washashore named Sam Bellamy realizes that his only chance for prosperity is to turn to piracy. But his search for fortune will take him away from his sweetheart, Maria Hallett, whose moments of apparent clairvoyance make the townsfolk wonder if she is a witch. Meanwhile, John Julian, a native man, follows the trail of the last wolf on Cape Cod. He is propelled by the belief that it is a messenger from the spirit world that will help him save the land he loves from the encroaching English.