The story of William Bligh. From his birth in Cornwall, to his signing on as a captain's servant, a midshipman in the Royal Navy, as ship's master with Cook, as Merchant Captain plying to the West Indies, and his appointment to command the Bounty, its mutiny and aftermath. It goes on to show Bligh as captain on fighting ships with Nelson and as Governor of New South Wales. It depicts his conflict with MacArthur, his involvement in the Rum Corps, his deposition, his return to Britain, his exoneration by court martial, promotion to Rear, then Vice Admiral, and finally, his death in Bond Street.