Chased through mountainous seas by a larger, faster Dutch man-o-war, Aubrey's Leopard barely escapes by a lucky shot that takes down the other ship's mast and broaches her immediately in the huge waves. A short time later, the Leopard runs into ice and is holed. Her first lieutenant and many of the crew board small boats and attempt to reach the Cape. Jack stays with his ship and manages to land her on a small desolate island. An American whaler shows up and Jack borrows her forge to rebuild his rudder.

While all this is going on, Stephen is dealing with an American sailor on the Leopard who is in love with a woman prisoner being carried to Bounty Bay. Both are working as spies for the American and French against the British. Stephen encourages them to escape in the whaler, having seen to it that they carry plenty of false information back to the enemy.