Set in old San Francisco Bay, this is a story of a young man who becomes involved with "oyster pirates" who make raids on commercial oyster beds, used their boats as convenient transport to rob business along the San Francisco bay at the turn of the century. The life outlined is one that Jack personally lived when as a youth he came to be regarded as one of the most dangerous of the bay pirates.

Jack London (1876-1916), an American novelist and short-story writer whose works deal romantically with elemental struggles for survival. At his peak, he was the highest paid and the most popular of all living writers. Because of early financial difficulties, he was largely self educated past grammar school.

London draws heavily on his life experiences in his writing. He spent time in the Klondike during the Gold Rush and at various times was an oyster pirate, a seaman, a sealer, and a hobo. His first work was published in 1898. From there he went on to write such American classics as Call of the Wild, Sea Wolf, and White Fang.