The story of Virginian shipbuilders Page & Allen. They were the only builders of clipper ships the in the South, and were responsible for such vessel as the famous Neptune's Car, Gosport, Currituck, Albion, James Guthrie and John A Parks. The book follows the story of the Gosport, a medium clipper and sister of the more famous Swordfish. The ship's history is tracked from the United States to the the Far East where she ended her days burnt to the waterline anchored off Batavia.