While searching for the Portuguese treasure wreck, the Flor de la Mar, Rick’s hunt is cut short as a mysterious new virus begins to spread out of China. During two years of travel lockdowns, the population watches the greatest wealth transfer in history, which sets off a series of protests and riots around the globe.

Rick’s nautical research takes a new direction as he is pulled into the fascinating world of 17th-century pirates. Seeing a clear connection between the inequality that the pirates faced and the rampant inequality in our modern world, he sets off on a journey to Madagascar to better understand what they were really fighting for. There he searches for the remnants of three distinct pirate settlements, culminating in his search for a legendary lost pirate utopia.

During his travels, Rick is confronted by Mold-ridden hotels, giant spiders, an attempted mugging, and transportation cut short by storms and sinkholes. It is a journey that is set against the backdrop of Madagascar’s lush jungles, islands, and coastal regions. In the end, it is up to you to decide if the rioters of today and the pirates of yesteryear are the villains or heroes of their time.