Captain Kidd

In 1699, William Kidd attacks and sinks the English galleon The Twelve Apostles off Madagascar. He and his confederates loot the treasure and secretly bury a portion on a remote island. This raid marks the beginning of Kidd's parallel history as treasure-seeker and pirate hunter-turned-privateer.

Kidd returns to London and installs a gentleman's gentleman to present a respectable face. He then seeks a royal commission as a privateer by appealing to the Crown’s sense of justice regarding the pirate who supposedly disappeared with the treasure. The plan is to rebrand himself as a legitimate captain and privateer.

The King is persuaded that the Twelve Apostles' captain was the pirate who vanished with the treasure, and he grants Kidd a privateering commission. This royal backing legitimizes Kidd's future operations and climbs him higher in status. The commission transforms Kidd’s ambitions into sanctioned state action.

Kidd sails to Newgate and Marshalsea to recruit condemned pirates, promising a royal pardon at voyage’s end. Among them is Adam Mercy, a cultured yet quarrelsome figure who will become the new master gunner. The diverse crew is assembled to support Kidd's ambitious voyage.

Mercy is installed as the master's gunner, based on his claimed prior service with pirate Captain Avery. He brings skill and a volatile temperament that will shape later betrayals. Kidd places his trust in Mercy, setting the stage for growing tension.

The King sends Kidd aboard the Adventure Galley toward Madagascar to rendezvous with the Quedagh Merchant and escort both ships back to England. The voyage is a proving ground for crew loyalties and Kidd's control over treasure and destiny. The sea voyage tightens the web of ambition around Kidd and his men.

Kidd uses a tale of a nearby pirate encounter to persuade Lord Fallsworth to switch ships with his daughter Lady Anne and the Mughal treasure aboard Quedagh Merchant. The plan hinges on a flawless transfer and a staged act of trust. The arrangement foreshadows the criminal entanglements to come.

Just as the transfer takes place, the Quedagh Merchant blows up, taking Lord Fallsworth's life and leaving Lady Anne terrified. Shadwell, Kidd's servant, tries to protect her by denying the prior battle with pirates. Mercy's presence looms as the pawn and possible beneficiary of the chaos.

On the return voyage, Kidd schemes to remove his three close associates and Mercy, suspecting Mercy of spying. He aims to consolidate control over the treasure while preserving plausible deniability. The muttered conspiracy sows distrust among the remaining crew.

Lorenzo attempts to force himself on Lady Anne, triggering Mercy to engage in a sword fight with him. Lorenzo drowns during the duel, and Kidd discovers Mercy's medallion bearing the Blayne family crest, hinting that Mercy is related to the murdered Captain Blayne. The revelation deepens the suspicion and danger surrounding Mercy.

Kidd, Orange Povey, and Mercy go ashore at a lagoon to dig up the Twelve Apostles loot stored earlier. Mercy feigns indifference to the crest, but his anger over his father's honor surfaces as Kidd taunts him. The resulting tension accelerates the crew’s eventual fracture.

Mercy attacks Kidd; a struggle with Povey leaves Mercy unconscious and he sinks under the water, presumed dead. He secretly returns to the ship and helps Lady Anne escape with Mercy in the jolly boat, but Shadwell sacrifices himself to cover their escape. Kidd then destroys the jolly boat to prevent pursuit.

Believing himself safe, Kidd presents the Mughal treasure to King William at court in the hope of securing the title and estate of Lord Blayne. He learns that Mercy and Lady Anne have already reached court ahead of him. The treasure hunt has spiraled into a test of allegiance and justice.

The crown’s investigators uncover loot in Kidd's cabin, and he is tried, condemned, and hanged. The dream of royal pardon collapses as the state executes its judgment. Mercy, Lady Anne, and the surviving conspirators face a future defined by the fallout of Kidd’s ambitions.