Some of the motivations were a little unclear this volume.
Raffy, being held by the Spanish to trade for the diamond, somehow talks them into granting him house arrest.
De La Loya insults Keen Flame and she begins plotting to overthrow the Spaniards, first swaying the malleable Ferrango.
Much of the book concerns a tribe of cannibals, which is a welcome addition to a pirate tale, but they don’t have much of a point beyond that.
The heroes find only the old witch alive on the Barracuda. The crew is dead of the deep sea sickness, and the captain has fled to the island’s interior. No real reason except his madness.
The heroes’ motivation is also shaky here. Why are they pursuing Black Dog? There is talk of using the Barracuda to rescue Raffy but the utility of the half-wrecked, crewless ship remains dubious, as does the necessity of Black Dog to pilot it. They might be able to trade the diamond for Raffy (do they even know he’s still alive?) but this is never explicitly stated. The only one who really wants to rescue Raffy is Maria. Emilio might want to help her out of friendship, but it’s not well established. Jean might want to reclaim the island, and she could use the diamond to pay for Red Hawk’s help. Idk.
Emilio and Jean pursue the captain and are aided by a shady character. They find Black Dog in a witch doctor’s hut, but the captain won’t reveal the diamond’s location.
The cannibals then capture Emilio and Maria, ostensibly to serve as hostages. Back at the beach cannibals kill Tar and capture Maria.
But it’s actually all a ruse and the captives are allowed to escape along with Black Dog. For some reason the shady guy goes with them, even though he led them into a trap.
The cannibals track the escapees. The witch and witch doctor ambush Black Dog when he goes to recover the diamond. He kills them both.
The rest of the party has gone back to the Barracuda where they attempt to fend off an all-out cannibal assault. The cannibals overrun the ship, but flee when they discover its hold full of dead men, fearing the deep water sickness.
The shady guy has Jean, Emilio, and Maria at gunpoint, but gives up when Black Dog returns and informs him of the witch doctor’s death.
Black Dog has gone somewhat mad due to the diamond and refuses to give it up, even to save his son.
Red Hawk arrives to fulfill his pact with Jean. We still don’t know what that entails.
Meanwhile, in Puerto Blanco, Raffy enacts his revenge against De La Loya, and the freebooters rebel against the Spaniards. The she-viper Keen Flame switches sides yet again. Raffy (foolishly?) lets her live.
The volume ends with the Barracuda and the Red Hawk sighted off Puerto Blanco.
The threads have merged considerably. Black Dog, Red Hawk, Emilio, Maria, and Jean are set to attack. Presumably they will be aided by Raffy, Keen Flame, and the freebooters. Against them, the blind priest and what remains of the Spaniards. Then, the diamond will be up for grabs.