Nick Young, a 12-year-old American orphan, sails the Southern Seas with Captain James Cook. From Tahiti to Australia they sail, discovering peoples, animals and plants previously unknown to Europeans. Forced into service for the British Navy, Nick escapes and joins the Americans, serving under Captain John Paul Jones. John Paul Jones tells Nick and a friend: "I see love of liberty, hope of glory written on both your faces. A few scratches...