In the final instalment of Herman Melville's famous novel, Captain Ahab's monomania has led to his refusal to give aid to the Captain of the whaling ship The Rachel, whose son had been lost just a few hours earlier in an encounter with Moby Dick himself. Ordering all sails bent, Captain Ahab sets off in hot pursuit of the great white whale, whilst The Rachel continues tacking to and fro in a despairing search for its loss.