It's 1729 on the Bahamian island of Santa Compana, the first functioning democracy in the Americas, where the diabolical pirate Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard (John Malkovich), reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. To gain control of this fearsome society, Tom Lowe, a highly skilled undercover assassin, is sent to the buccaneers' haven to take down the brilliant and charismatic Blackbeard. But the closer Lowe gets, the more he finds that his quest is not so simple as he can't help but admire the political ideals of Blackbeard. But Lowe is not the only danger to Blackbeard's rule. He is a man with many villainous rivals and one great weakness - a passionately driven woman whom he cannot deny.