Assignats

A weather‑worn Russian named Ivan Alexandrovski appears on a bleak Novgorod beach, where three desperate castaways have washed ashore after a storm. He offers them a chance to earn a living: to crew his aging freighter, the Shongpong, and carry a cargo of tea from the Japanese coast to Victoria on Vancouver Island. The trio—Micky McMasters, a seasoned skipper, “Red” Landyard, an American mate, and a Scotch engineer—size each other up, wary of missing papers, hidden motives, and the looming threat of a price on their heads.

The scene crackles with gritty dialogue and cultural clashes, as the men negotiate wages, loyalties, and the ship’s mysterious flag. Their uneasy pact sets the stage for a perilous crossing of the Sea of Japan, where rusted decks, swarming laborers, and the promise of a modest fortune hint at both hardship and adventure. Listeners are drawn into a world of fog‑filled harbors, uneasy alliances, and the raw tension of a 1920s maritime gamble.