The tip of a volcano sticking up out of the Mediterranean, known to seamen of the 16th century as a navigational hazard only, contains a tiny civilization...a stronghold of pirates. In this unique hideaway the pirates and the ladies they have taken captive live a most unusual and intimate life together...hidden from the rest of the world. Concurrent in time with the passing of the supremacy of the seas from Spain to England, the British Navy made a relentless search for the pirates who were playing havoc with merchant shipping. All the while the pirate civilization thrived...as the women chose their mates from the population of pirates...in accordance with the very strictly enforced rules of the pirate society....