The year is 1878, and it all starts with a faint vision fueled by desperation and Madeira wine. Miguel Mirante, a Portuguese farmer, has a wife and four children to feed, but his crops are failing on São Miguel island. He does not read, and he has never seen a map or a globe. He knows nothing of the world outside of his island, and he has no idea what it is like to sail on a bark around Cape Horn. Little does he realize that smuggled diamonds, measles, williwaw winds, and booby birds await those, who like him, would risk everything for a better life. He only knows that staying put means destitution for his family and that there are people who are willing to pay for his passage and educate his children on the far side of the world.