A story of many mysteries, principal among them, the true identity of the enigmatic Dr. Matthew Prendel. Legend has is that Prendel, an expert sailor, had been shipwrecked years before the story opens in contemporary New York. His boat was attacked by pirates. He survived thanks to an incredible stroke of luck, while his entire crew perished. But then he found himself embroiled in a ferocious fight for survival between two castaways on a desert island. There too he was lucky and won. But is something darker occuring?