Fair Wind to Java

In 1883, a Boston company that owns Gerrymander pressures Boll to make a profit within six months. The demand pushes him toward risky, nontraditional schemes to turn a quick buck. This corporate squeeze sets the stage for a perilous voyage and moral compromises to come.

On Java, an Indonesian survivor tells Boll that native divers salvaged diamonds from a sunken ship. The tale hints at a fortune hidden away from normal trade routes. Boll begins to draft a scheme that could deliver wealth by bypassing Dutch restrictions.

Boll purchases Kim Kim, a dancer at the sultan's palace, and secretly smuggles her onto Gerrymander in defiance of anti-slavery laws. The illegal act heightens tension aboard and exposes Boll to new kinds of risk. Flint grows suspicious as the true reason for her presence remains hidden.

Flint uncovers Boll's motive and uses it to pressure him, threatening to report Boll to the Dutch unless he receives half the diamonds. The threat sows distrust among the crew and foreshadows a potential mutiny. Boll must balance loyalty, fear, and greed to maintain control.

Pulo Besar, a pirate posing as a Dutch citizen, learns Kim Kim is aboard and informs the authorities. A ship search fails to locate her because she hides on deck inside a half-filled water cask. The crew's discovery of her presence deepens the peril around Boll's decision to protect her.

Boll faces a mutinous crew inflamed by Flint's insinuations about Kim Kim's influence. To regain control, he offers Flint half the fortune if the mutiny ends and he remains captain. The plan works for now, and Flint is imprisoned.

With the mutiny quelled, Gerrymander sails toward the fabled Vishnu's island in search of the diamonds. Boll and Kim Kim grow closer during the voyage, though she fears Vishnu's anger if the treasure is taken. The crew remains wary as tensions between greed and loyalty simmer.

Besar and his pirates seize Gerrymander and move the crew to Besar's island, where he maintains a palace and armed men. He tortures Kim Kim to force her to reveal the diamonds' location, threatening Boll's life in the process. Flint, Wilson, and another Gerrymander crewman offer to cooperate with Besar.

Gerrymander's remaining crew escapes Besar's grasp and regains control of their ship. They set out to recapture their vessel and pursue Besar's island to save Kim Kim and stop the pirates' plunder. Boll's leadership drives the renewed chase across dangerous seas.

Wilson overhears Besar's plan and swims to warn Boll, delivering crucial information that points Vishnu's island to Krakatoa. The pursuit realigns with a new target, turning into a race against a volatile volcano. The crew steels themselves for a treacherous volcanic chase.

As Gerrymander nears Krakatoa, the volcano erupts, throwing the voyage into chaos. Besar's pirates reach Vishnu's temple on the rim, but the eruption and lava thwart their advance. Boll decides the danger is too great to risk lives for diamonds and shifts focus to rescuing Kim Kim.

Besar's pirates are killed in the eruption while Boll's crew escapes, using a sea anchor to ride out the massive waves. The ship endures a brutal tsunami and carries Kim Kim away from the collapsing island. The diamonds vanish with Vishnu's wrecked temple, eliminating any hope of recovery.

With Krakatoa destroyed and the diamonds beyond reach, Boll proclaims a 100,000-guilder bounty on Besar to monetize the former pursuit. In a final seal of partnership, Boll marries Kim Kim on Gerrymander's quarterdeck as the crew looks on, blending ambition with personal loyalty.