Around the year 1749, a young Irishman named Peter Kerrivan deserted the British Navy by jumping ship in a small fishing village on the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula of New Founde Lande. The Society of Masterless Men follows the true story of Kerrivan and a ragtag band of young Irish runaways as they are forced to live together in a remote, unsettled area of the island known as the 'Butter Pot.'
Running from harsh slave-like conditions imposed upon them by cruel fishing masters and brutish naval officers, this small group of deserters learn to survive the harsh and unforgiving environment of a yet untamed land. As the men become a society unto themselves, they survive by trading with the indigenous people and by raiding the homes and fishing rooms of local citizens.
The Society of Masterless Men is an exciting tribute to the human will to survive, to our need for community and belonging, and to our innate desire to triumph over tyranny and oppression. It is also a tribute to Irish Canadians and immigrants from other cultures, many of whom were forced to come to Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a nod to their undying spirit that, perhaps unknowingly, has become the backbone of the greatest province in Canada.