Captain Pollard took command of the ill-fated whaling ship Essex when he was not yet thirty. Raised on a farm, lured by the unknown power of the sea, Pollard commands with great courage and recklessness. When the Essex is sunk by a huge whale and the crew is set adrift, Pollard is forced to implement an ancient custom of the sea -- the sacrifice of one man to save the lives of others. Pollard"s obedience to the moral law of the sea, and the consequences of his act when he returns to an unforgiving society, become the heart of this extraordinary exploration of one man"s search for principles -- and redemption.