In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan, armed with five ships and about 260 men, set sail from Spain in search of a water route to the West Indies. Despite suffering starvation, disease, torture, and death, they discovered the passageway known today as the Strait of Magellan. In the masterful telling of award-winning historian Laurence Bergreen, one of the most epic voyages of the age of exploration comes to life.