In the second half of the 17th century, life for buccaneers became harder day by day: Tortuga, once the mainstay of piracy, was almost deserted, and European states—showing considerable interest in America—ended their long feuds and made peace, no longer issuing letters of marque that turned pirates into lawful participants in military actions. Out of the Gulf of Mexico, desperate sea drifters moved to islands of the Pacific Ocean. Continuing an uncompromising war with the Spanish, members of the Coastal Brotherhood are hatching ominous plans, preparing, in the end, to make a big fortune.