Tierra del Fuego, the beginning of the 20th century. A vast and desolate land frequented only by gold diggers, English missionaries, Chilean and Argentine military, and the age-old Ona, Alacaluf and Yaghan tribes. In this unique world, where the Andean mountains plunge into the Pacific Ocean, several characters with tormented fates will cross paths and clash on their journey to Cape Horn.
This is Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s account of his life as a common seaman aboard the brig the Pilgrim which set out from Boston on August 14, 1835 destined for California by way of the treacherous Cape Horn.