In which the schooner Ghost lies becalmed after a storm, revealing a microcosm of a hard sea life aboard, where men toil under the prickly command of Captain Wolf Larsen and the fragile value of human life is coldly weighed against the relentless demands of nature and commerce. We encounter a vivid cast of sailors, from the jovial Louis to the grim Johnson, and witness the perilous ordeal of the green hand Harrison, whose fearful climb aloft forges a quiet testament to courage amidst a stark and unforgiving world.