Tired of life, the narrator, Ishmael, seeks adventure on the world’s o ceans and sets sail on the Pequod for a three-year whaling voyage.Not until the ship is far out to sea does the mysterious Captain Ahab appear his eyes ‘like powder-pans’ and an air of madness about him. In a stirring speech, he reveals that his purpose and driving ambition is to find the white whale known as Moby Dick, the whale responsible for the loss of his leg. No-one dares argue, and with the charismatic Ahab at the helm the ship embarks on its fatal mission.