Captain Wolf Larsen, the notorious Sea Wolf who rules the crew of his ship, the Ghost, with an iron fist. While on the high seas he takes on a castaway, the literary critic Humphrey Van Weyden. But instead of dropping him off at the next harbour, Larsen forces him to work in his crew as a ship boy. The young dandy has to fight for his very own survival in this new, rough world on board. But his most dangerous challenge is the captain himself, who involves him in an evil game.