At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the indian ocean shortly before the outbreak of the opium wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thro...At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the indian ocean shortly before the outbreak of the opium wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of indians and westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan.