Gabool the Wild is the most feared rat ever to sail the high seas. As the pirate king he rules with a quick temper and a swift sword, terrorizing all who cross his path. Joseph the Bellmaker and his daughter, the mousemaid Mariel, are his latest victims. When their ship is attacked by the searats, Gabool takes Joseph's marvelous bell among the booty, and casts him and his daughter overboard. Washed ashore, and suffering from memory loss, Mariel finds a home at Redwall Abbey. And when she recalls what happened to her and her father, she sets off with three Mossflower companions to confront Gabool--and make him pay for his crimes...