The Demon Cruiser

The sturdy brigantine Maxwell cuts through a moonless sea, its sails full as it steams home from Australia toward New York. Aboard is William Manton, a weary but proud widower returning with a locked iron chest holding half a million dollars in gold, meant to secure his daughter’s future. His careful habit of checking the glittering coins each night reveals a man torn between hope and the shadow of his own failing health.

Below deck, third mate Brand watches the old man’s ritual with a hungry stare. A seasoned sailor of Portuguese origin, Brand is a charismatic yet reckless figure, his reputation stained by countless crimes and a growing dependence on rum. The lure of the gold awakens a dark ambition in him, and as the night deepens he begins to plot a daring scheme that could change the fate of everyone on the ship.