In 1611, Henry Hudson was on his second trip to the New World, seeking a shortcut through North America to the riches of the Orient. After having wintered over in what is now known as James Bay, the southern pocket of the huge bay that would be named for Hudson, some of his crew had had enough. Low on food and tired of the quixotic rule of the autocratic master of the ship, they rebelled. Hudson and several scurvy-sick crew members were set adrift in a shallop.

What became of Hudson and his men? Stories have come down over the centuries to the inhabitants of the James Bay area telling of fair-skinned strangers on their shores. Could they have been the abandoned master and his crew? Award-winning author Lawrence Millman weaves together the contemporary accounts of Hudson's voyages and visits James Bay to investigate the mysterious fate of one of England's greatest maritime explorers.