A Paradox of Virtue . . .

 

 

1620 – Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Rather than face the restrictions that inevitably come with increased responsibility, a young nobleman decides to flee, hopping a ship for parts unknown. Surprisingly, the escape spares his family from even greater scandal . . .

 

1655 – New Amsterdam, New Netherlands

A freebooter and mercenary takes up residence and enters into the military service of the colony. His appearance is unheralded; his eventual departure is almost as mysterious . . .

 

1690 – Somewhere near Curaçao 

During the heyday of piracy's Golden Age in Caribbean, a corsair and privateer "operating" out of the port of Willemstad preys upon commerce on the Spanish Main with an air straddling daring, rapacious, and flat-out reckless . . .

 

1725 – Kaapstad, Cape Colony

It seemed like a good idea at the time: the Cape of Good Hope was one of the Crossroads of the World, and that meant almost anything could happen thanks to almost anyone. Never mind that all of those things and all of those people weren't always on the up and up . . .

 

1840 – Natalia, Southern Africa

It wasn't that he had anything against the English – or anyone else for that matter. But the prospect of going trekking into the interior of Africa meant adventure, so what else was there? Load up the wagons and the rifles . . .

 

And fast forward to today.

 

2005 – San Fernando Valley, California

It was everything you'd expect from a skin-flick shoot:

 

"Cut! Alright, we'll go with that one. Switch the set, and get the fluffer out here to keep him up – we need a shot for the DVD cover – then we're back on camera in five minutes . . ."

 

Well? What qualifies as "adventure" changes over time. And everyone's got to make a living, right?

 

"What they have in common is more than just a name . . ."