Vasco Coelho was a young boy in the Court of King Manuel of Portugal when Magellan petitioned for royal aid to sail westward to the Spice Islands of the Far East. When King Manuel refused the petition, Magellan went on to King Charles of Spain, taking with him young Vasco, whose love of the sea and adventure had drawn him to the great explorer. Intrigue, hardships, success, and, in the end, death awaited Magellan on that voyage that was to be known as one of the greatest in history.

And on the same voyage, Vasco suffered and adventured and grew to be a man. He was to live to complete the round-the-world trip and to return to his family and a new romantic adventure of his own.

From the dust jacket