A gripping tale of a family's struggle against religious persecution, war, and perils at sea during the early years of the Dutch eighty-year war of independence.

Sea captain Maarten van der Voort is an outspoken Calvinist in Catholic-dominated Amsterdam in 1568, when the Netherlands' powerful ruler Spain sends an army to purge heretics from its realm. He flees to join the Sea Beggar ragtag rebel fleet and fights one bloody sea battle after another. At home, the Inquisition takes a grisly toll, superstitious wife Betje's faith is tested, and Catholic Beguine Aunt Margaretha tries to protect everyone.

When a Sea Beggar victory frees Amsterdam and the family reunites, Maarten has scores to settle, debts to pay, a trading business to restart, and a fractured city to calm.

Though war rages in southern Netherlands and ever threatens Amsterdam, normality sets in for the Van der Voorts. Son Dirck daringly pursues new trade routes to help Maarten build a sea trading empire, and spirited son Nicolaas tests social norms while searching for his role. Erudite stepsister Catrijn must choose between her lifelong love and a sophisticated immigrant. All the while, Amsterdam lurches toward its 1600s Golden Age.