Ukuak is an Ibibio blacksmith and important member of the secret Leopard Society. He leads a force of militia in defending his city on the Cross River of what is today Nigeria in the 17th century. His town is being attacked by the rival slave port of Calabar. His king surrenders and Ukuak and his men are taken as captives, bound to the to be sold as slaves. He leads a shipboard rebellion, which succeeds, though the ship runs aground in the Grenadine Islands of the Caribbean. The Africans are rescued by Caribs from St. Vincent Island and incorporated into the island population. Ukuak must make a new life as a member of Carib society, defend his new family, and play an important role in his new community as a blacksmith and gunsmith.