Many Argosseans have been forced out to sea by burdensome taxes and penalties imposed by the king and his court. Most flee to Messantia where a person can lose himself in the streets. Some sign on to merchant vessels. And some become freebooters and buccaneers who sail the western seas. Of those who feed off other's labors, one group is of importance. Although backed by foreigners, the captain and crew are Argossean. Their expedition will take them far pastthe Isle of the Black Ones, past the domain of the pirates of the Baracha Islands, in search of a lost island kingdom and the untold wealth it contains. Their fame, however, lies not only in what they accomplish, but in one of their crew - a young barbarian. His name is Conan.