Just out of the hospital and totally out of funds, Ralph Leslie jumped at the chance to sign aboard millionaire Marshall Turner's luxurious super-yacht as steward to the passengers lodged in its after house. His job was easy sailing until one sultry summer night, when the dream voyage suddenly became a nightmare of blood and terror. One ship's officer was thrown overboard. Another was hacked to death with an ax. The killer struck again and again, and the Ella was awash in a wave of panic that engulfed passengers and crew alike. Only one hand aboard, ex-landlubber Leslie, seemed enough in control to stay the bloody hand of the murderer. But he'd have to stay alive to do it, and that wasn't going to be easy.