This book is about Captain Cook, a british explorer who is commissioned by england to find a mythical continent. This continent ends up being present day Australia, but at the time was thought to be inhabited by jewish traders. At the same time though, a French captain is trying to find the same thing. Along the way both captains experience scurvy, food shortages, angry natives, and almost have no idea where they are the entire journey. They both discover and name new islands, find new spieces of animals and plants, and find the continent of Australia but somehow never meet.