With only a Dictaphone and a pipe the old seaman sets out, cursing life, his nurse, and the listener, to immortalize himself and the tale that transported him across land and sea--making him the greatest pirate the world has ever known. Or so he says. Narrated by the "crazy" old man, I, Pirate tells the story of a hapless youth whose accidental meeting with the rumor of a treasure sends him on a life-altering, man-making journey to ends of the earth he never knew existed. Encountering a host of dangerous criminals, and forming an alliance with the one-eyed, bull-headed crone sworn to outwit them, the young man finds himself pulled from the German countryside into a tropical mystery that only he can unravel. On his way, he either meets, dodges, or caresses (though sometimes all three) a host of unusual characters: the gigantic eunuch Babar, and Ruzban his gruesome master; Marlene, the one-legged mistress of a delightful brothel; her protégé Anna (quite possibly the love of his life); Ros Nir, the droll and drunken old sailor; and, most importantly, the nameless Captain. As each encounter in turn questions his ideas of friendship, loyalty, and above all, courage, the future pirate finds himself challenged to take hold of his glorious destiny and never look back.