On a June day in 1856, the clipper Calypso sailed from New York Harbor carrying a strange cargo.

The Calypso had been chartered by the notorious Mother Mag Maher, who was moving her girls to San Francisco, where men were Ionely and gold was plentiful.

The crew had orders from Captain Tucker to keep their hands off. But some of the women, unable to live without men, displayed themselves before leering, hungry eyes.

As the clipper. sailed into the tropics, tension mounted. The stifling air became heavy with desire and the promise of violence.

A promise that was soon fulfilled.