While searching for the Flor de la Mar, a historical Portuguese treasure wreck, Rick discovers 500-year-old silver off the coast of Sumatra. Unfortunately, his treasure hunt is cut short as a mysterious new virus begins to spread out of China, leading to two years of travel lockdowns. Over this time, 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 better understand what they were really fighting for.

While exploring an old pirate settlement on the island of Sainte Marie, Rick goes from bribing his way into treasure hunting locations to talking his way out of run-ins with the police and military. As he experiences Malagasy culture, he begins to recognize the lasting influence the pirates have had on the local people.

Interweaving historical accounts with modern-day examples, the reader is taken on a journey of self-reflection and is asked to question some of the practices of modern governments and their corporate benefactors.

During his travels, Rick is confronted by Mold-ridden hotels, giant spiders, an attempted mugging, and transportation cut short by storms and sinkholes. On a remote island in the northeast, Rick finally manages to visit the resting place of a legendary pirate king. However, the waterway has an ominous air, as it has claimed the lives of three children just days before. From the stormy eastern coast, he makes his way to the western shoreline, where he follows clues found in old maps and historical documents and begins his search for the legendary pirate utopia of Libertalia.

The book takes the reader on a journey through pirate history, a thrilling treasure hunt, and a hard look at the rise of inequality in our modern world. 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 heroes or villains of their time.