The author was born in San Sebastián and studied medicine, which he practiced for some time. However, his name has gone down in the history of literature as part of the Generation of '98. In this book, his atheism is not apparent, even though the main character is an atheist. Despite the author's melancholic and pessimistic nature, when he writes about his homeland or the sea, his style becomes more cheerful.
On this occasion, he sets the beginning of the story in Lúzaro, a coastal village in the Basque Country where he spent his childhood and was able to hear firsthand the real or imagined tales told by sailors during their leisure time. This is a book that took a long time to be published; it was finally released in 1911, bringing together pages he had written in previous years.
The protagonist is Shanti Andía, who narrates the story of his life in the first person. Shanti was shy, adventurous, and somewhat reserved. During his childhood, he went through periods of illness, during which he was taught what he could not learn in a regular schooling environment.
At the age of fifteen, thanks to a friend of his father, he went to Cádiz, where he studied to become a ship captain. There, he met a girl with whom he fell in love, but when he returned two years later, Dolores had already married a better match.
He returns to his hometown and discovers that his uncle Juan de Aguirre, who had disappeared and was presumed dead, might still be alive under a different name. Through his investigations, he learned that his uncle had been the captain of a ship engaged in the slave trade; the ship's name was El Dragón.
His life would not be much different from that of his uncle, depending on the phases he went through. At times, he worked on that type of ship, while at others, he switched to vessels that followed fixed routes. However, his adventurous spirit always led him to flirt with danger. At sea, he was surrounded by sailors from his homeland, several of whom were captains or pilots.
His life was full of risks. The writing style is sober and clear, although it does not always follow a linear narrative. The characters are well developed, and a diverse range of beliefs is portrayed, largely in line with the environment being described.
After sailing many miles, he returns to his village in a hurry: he has received news that a local man is trying to court Mary, a young woman he had taken care of after she was orphaned. Finally, he returns home. From that moment on, with a comfortable position, his life becomes stable, although he still longs for the sea.
The maritime atmosphere is well described. The details of life aboard different ships, as depicted in Andía's story, were drawn from readings that describe similar situations to those in which the protagonist is placed.