In Prohibition-era San Francisco, George du Cane drifts through a bohemian world of clubs, wealth, and restless talk until a stranger's name changes everything: Vanderdecken, a ruthless yacht raider terrorizing the coast with speed, secrecy, and wireless-disabling tactics. Into this smoky, lawless atmosphere steps Hank Fisher, a brilliant, eccentric self-made man whose blunt justice and instinct for "man hunting" make him the unlikely leader of a private pursuit. When Hank reveals that he is nearly broke, betrayed by his own business partner, and still determined to chase the pirate for reward and principle alike, George is drawn into an adventure he cannot quite resist. Their search leads from San Francisco's waterfront to Tyrebuck, a shipping magnate who loans them the battered yacht Wear Jack, setting the stage for a dangerous voyage along the Channel Islands and Southern California coast. But the mission grows stranger when they discover the girl they believed they had rescued is armed, defiant, and unwilling to play the role assigned to her. As the Wear Jack presses south under vivid skies, the men confront suspicion, responsibility, and the uneasy truth that every pursuit in this novel of adventure, social satire, and nautical intrigue carries its own surprises. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.

À propos de l'auteur

Stacpoole, H. De Vere

H. De Vere Stacpoole, born Henry De Vere Stacpoole in 1863 in Ireland and later educated in England and France, led a life that was as varied and restless as the fiction he created. After training in medicine and working for a time as a ship’s doctor, he turned increasingly to writing, drawing on his travels, his close observation of human nature, and his fascination with the sea, islands, and the fragile line between civilization and isolation. Over a long literary career he produced a remarkable body of novels, romances, adventure tales, and supernatural stories, earning wide popularity for his vivid storytelling and atmospheric settings. His work often explores longing, exile, desire, moral conflict, and the pull of the unknown, themes that still resonate because they speak to enduring human questions about freedom, love, and survival. In his hands, remote landscapes become more than scenery: they mirror emotional states and test the limits of character. Stacpoole’s lasting significance lies in his ability to combine accessibility with depth, giving readers stories that are both entertaining and quietly haunting. Today, he remains especially appealing to readers who enjoy classic adventure, sea narratives, and lyrical fiction with a sense of mystery and emotional intensity.