In this fine sailing and exploring yarn, Edward Frederick Knight , sometime English barrister, journalist, sportsman, and amateur seaman, conspires over a fish dinner in Harwich to buy and refit the tiny yacht Falcon, recruit a crew of four , and sail across the Atlantic Ocean to South America. This they do, despite naysayers who advised painting the yacht's name conspicuously on her keel to aid identification when found floating upside down in some foreign sea.

The book provides detailed descriptions of sailing in difficult waters and powerful storms, the spectacular scenery of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, sport hunting in unspoiled jungles, frequent revolutions and, perhaps most important, the customs of the many different peoples who inhabit the South American continent. As was common practice in his day, Knight assumes the superiority of the “white” races and is not hesitant to express his sometimes less-than-favorable impressions of the “lesser” races he encounters. But he offers high praise for the beauty of the land and the kindness of the people he meets.