Content Warning: The source material uses outdated, offensive terms for Black people throughout, which is replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material. This guide also discusses racism and enslavement.

Susan Barton is an Englishwoman sailing back to Europe after an unproductive trip to the Americas. She left Brazil after failing to find her daughter who was kidnapped many years before. While onboard the ship to England, the crew revolts. They mutiny, kill the captain, and then set his body adrift in a small boat, along with Susan.

Susan is furious. She rows until exhaustion. Then, she slips over the side and into the ocean. She tries to swim toward an island in the distance but passes out. Susan wakes up on a beach with the shadow of a naked man cast over her. He is “a Negro with a head of fuzzy wool” and dressed only in rough pants (5). Susan tries to communicate in English and Portuguese. She needs water, but the man does not respond. When she sees that he is carrying a spear, she becomes afraid. The man silently beckons her away from the shore.