Calm stoic captain Mac Whirr has just been given command of a new steamship the <I>Nan-Shan</I>. He and his crew are transporting Asian workers across the China Sea when a sudden drop in atmospheric pressure alerts Mac Whirr of 'some uncommonly dirty weather knocking about.' <br><br><br><br>Soon the steamship her crew and the human cargo are caught in the midst of a vicious typhoon. The impending disaster brings out the best and the worst of Mac Whirr; Jukes the chief mate; Solomon the wise engineer; and the rest of the crew. Conrad shows that in the struggle for survival true character will always be exposed.