A chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of 'Half-Cocked Jack' Shaftoe, London street urchin turned legendary swashbuckling adventurer, risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox. And Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent a contentious continent through the newborn power of finance.