Benjamin Franklin Orville is a boy who wants for
nothing. He has his own pony, plenty of fancy chocolate
and he’s caught the eye of the charming girl next door.
Then one day, while running an errand for his mother,
Benjy is caught up in a scuffle, kidnapped
with a group of immigrants. The once-pampered boy is
forced to work aboard the Ella Dawn—one of the most
ill-reputed oystering vessels in Baltimore.Soon Benji
knows only hard work, hunger, a little bit
of German, and a whole lot about injustice. It’s
more of an education than he ever got at home.
Along with a growling stomach and aching
muscles, he also experiences the joys of the sea—a gentle rhythm that rocks him to sleep
at night and freedom he never felt between the fancy walls of his home. Will Benjamin ever see home again? And if he does, will he know what to do there?