Washed ashore after a harrowing shipwreck, English seafarers Jim and Natty find themselves stranded on the Gulf Coast in Texas. Their ship, the Nightingale, has been destroyed, and to Jim and Natty's horror, only one other survivor remains. But, the shocked and grief-stricken duo soon realizes they're not all alone on the beach. When a band of Native Americans approaches the shore in a threatening fury, they brutally kill Jim and Natty's last shipmate, rob their dead crew and take the two desperate survivors hostage.
Suddenly, Jim and Natty are thrust into an Old West adventure unlike anything they've ever experienced. Starting with a desperate escape from a violent Chief, who obsessively keeps close on their trail, they join up with a troupe of entertainers who take them to a thriving and dangerous New Orleans, and finally, head back to the high seas where Jim and Natty hope to seek passage home.
In magnificent, freewheeling prose and in a high-flying style, Andrew Motion has spun a fantastic yarn that will win the hearts of adventure lovers everywhere.
