World War II has just ended. Europe is in ruins, and the seas are littered with mines. At this moment in history eighteen-year-old Peter Newman, rudderless and discontent, abandons his conventional, middle class family and runs away to sea. Peter is inspired by the romantic adventures of Richard Halliburton. He longs to view the Taj Mahal by moonlight, swim the Hellespont, and fall in love with a Kashmiri maiden. Instead he lands on the SS Umatilla, a rusty tanker heading for ports unknown. Truly a fish out of water, he is surrounded by a wacky crew of eccentrics, misfits, and rogues. Some shipmates become close friends, but others grow to be dangerous enemies.

Peter's adventures turn out to be quite different from what he expects. In a narrative filled with humor, suspense, and adventure, our hero spends nine months at sea, loses his innocence, and discovers a new meaning of life.