Dr. Peter Blood is an Irish physician who had a wide-ranging career as a soldier and sailor before settling down to practice medicine in the town of Bridgwater. He wants no part in the rebellion the town is staging in support of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, but is arrested while attending to some of the rebels' injuries. Blood is convicted of treason and sold into slavery in the Carribean where he is treated well for a slave due to his skill as a physician. When a Spanish force attacks the town, Blood and his fellow slaves steal the Spaniards' ship and become the most feared pirates in the Caribbean.

Sabatini was a proponent of basing historical fiction as closely as possible on history. Although Blood is a fictional character, much of the historical background of the novel is based on fact. The Monmouth rebels were sold into slavery as described in the book; and the shifting political alliances of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 are used in the novel as a plot device to allow Blood's return to respectability.

This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket.