Over 1, 000 people are recruited from the Mediterranean area, mostly Minorcans, to work as indentured servants for Dr Andrew Turnbull, wealthy British landowner. They are transported to Turnbull's colony at New Smyrna, Florida, where they must live and work on plantations under horrible conditions.
The story centers around a young Minorcan man and his sweetheart. It tells of the hardships of the colony and the danger from hostile Indians and wild animals that the young couple must deal with.