At almost 60, Boson Harold Snow is nearing the end of life's voyage. Aboard a creaking tanker loaded with volatile petrochemicals, Snow and explosive first mate Bracelin embark on a dangerous and illegal scheme that sends their disintegrating hulk on a scattershot voyage from North to South America and on to the wilder shores of Africa. Hurricanes, crooked customs officials, tropical ports seething with vice and revolution, and even doomed love threaten Snow and his shady venture. But nothing troubles him more than the thoughts swirling through his head - of a black existence littered with bodies. Yet Snow clings to the possibility that even on this darkest of voyages, there is still a chance at redemption ...