Robertson's story, written fourteen years before the historic event it presaged, parallels the descriptions and fate of the Titanic with psychic precision. His tale, however, doesn't end with the passengers' watery demise; rather, it chronicles the detective work instigated by members of Lloyd's of London, embroiling Scotland Yard, when word comes in that the heavily insured ship has sunk to the bottom of the ocean. What ensues is a battle between insurers and attorneys, in London and New York, and a survivor who has rescued another passenger's daughter. Robertson draws upon his own rich and wild experience as a seaman on the Atlantic to weave a narrative interspersed with colloquial dialogue, bringing to life the conflicts between the rich merchants who rely upon shipping and the sailing men relied upon to chart their courses.
