First published 1993
William Kemp faces financial ruin. The merchant stakes his final resources on a slave trading voyage that could save his business or destroy him completely. His son desperately needs wealth to marry above his station. His nephew serves as ship's doctor, having lost everything he once cherished. The vessel sails into disaster when illness ravages the enslaved cargo. The captain's brutal response triggers an uprising that unites sailors and slaves against their oppressors. The rebels escape to Florida's wilderness, where they build a hidden community based on equality and freedom. But young Kemp survives the chaos, and his thirst for revenge drives him to hunt down those who cost his family their fortune. This Booker Prize winner exposes how England's hunger for colonial profits corrupted everyone it touched.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: England, Florida
Period: 19th Century
630 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: slavery, violence