Two boys meet on a voyage which transforms their lives. Madu, a young African, is captured by the Elizabethan slave-trader, Sir John Hawkins. Tom Oakley is a young sailor in charge of the slaves. At first the two boys hate each other. But as the story develops their roles are reversed, and each comes to depend on the other more than either would have once thought possible. This is a fast-moving adventure story based around real historical events. History as you never learned it in school!