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?