When he was a boy, Christopher Callahan's father, mother, and brother were massacred by a group of four pirates known as the Devil's Tines, led by Captain Neville "the Devil" Scranton. Neville cuts off Christopher's hand and leaves him for dead. He is rescued by a former slave turned outlaw, Marcus, who raises him as his own child. Christopher changes his name to Christopher Raven and grows up to be a ruthless and amoral pirate captain. He plans to seek revenge against the Devil's Tines, but is robbed of the opportunity when they are presumed killed during the 1692 Jamaica earthquake that sinks Port Royal into the ocean.