As l'Espadon is anchored at Brest, its captain, Monsieur de Clichy, invites some of his crew and some precious guests to his estate. On their way to his mansion, their carriage is attacked by a bunch of ruffians who manage to severely wound the captain, who narrowly avoids death thanks to the intervention of the PCs. These are spread across the crew and the guests, and bring the now handicapped De Clichy home. The time is too short to allow a proper investigation, as the ship is supposed to leave Brest tomorrow. A new captain is quickly dispatched to replace De Clichy: Monsieur de Sailly. The Frigate is supposed to escort a merchant Fluyt - la Dame Jeanne - to Saint Domingue.

As soon as the ship leaves Brest, it becomes clear to the crew that Monsieur de Sailly is a less-than-capable captain, far from Monsieur de Clichy and his legendary kindness towards his men. In the meantime, two of the guests - Églantine Gauthier and Rosa Perguaz (a PC) - leave the Fluyt and join l'Espadon. There, the young Églantine requires the presence of a sailor to keep her company: she designates Kieran (another PC) for the task.