In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex is assaulted by something no one could believe—a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance.
After Port Royal is attacked and pillaged by a mysterious pirate crew, capturing the governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann in the process, William Turner asks free-willing pirate Jack Sparrow to help him locate the crew's ship—The Black Pearl—so that he can rescue the woman he loves.