A century after civilization fell in a day and a night of tectonic cataclysm, scattered communities have regained a fraction of what humanity lost on that Day of Destruction. One such is the Duchy of Hampshire on the southern tip of England.

Hampshire is at war with the Califat de Normandie. It is a war that has been profitable for merchant sea captain Ethan Scott of the Sailing Barque Hellespont. Despite the money to be made, Scott prays for the war to end. Each time he puts to sea, he risks his ship and the lives of his crew on his ability to evade the Norman raiders in the Channel and the Eirish Sea. It is a gamble he will inevitably lose if he keeps at it too long.

The Duke of Hampshire has problems of his own. War is expensive. If he doesn't find additional resources soon, he will be defeated. The Duke plans to send an expedition to North America to discover whether the fabled wealth of old still exists there. For that, he needs a ship.

Scott's chance meeting with a beautiful woman presents both men with the solution to their respective problems. Soon Hellespont sets sail for America and the mysterious Wall that scholars believe precipitated the fall of civilization, and which may yet destroy the world.