In the heady climate of the nineteenth century goldrushes, "going to see the elephant" was a saying that described an exciting, often dangerous, and usually profitless adventure-something to tell one's grandchildren about. In the spirit of the bestselling Island of the Lost, the story is told of the crew of the Connecticut schooner Sarah W. Hunt. When their boats are blown out to sea, off one of the most icy and hostile islands in the sub-Antarctic ocean, twelve men are abandoned by their skipper, left to live or die by their own wits and stamina. Six survive, to be carried to New Zealand-where the inquiry and court case that follow become an international controversy, with repercussions that reach as far as the desk of the president of the United States.