Lured onto the Albert Dock when eleven years old by his fascination for the ocean and the ships that sail upon it, William Scarff will go to sea in search of a life away from the drudgery of working leather in his father's shop in Liverpool. His voyages take him around the world, bringing high adventure, a lifelong friendship and tragedy. Set in the middle of the nineteenth century this is the tale of a boy who survives the perils of the sea, the dangers of war, the lust for gold and emerges from it all as a man. A man 'of sterling worth' searching for love and a home.