1814, off the Durham coast, near the little village of Hartlepool, a war-ship in the Napoleonic fleet founders during a storm and sinks. At day-break, amid the wreckage and flotsam on the beach, fisherman discover a survivor: a monkey dressed in full military regalia, the mascot of the shipwrecked French vessel. Now, the good people of Hartlepool despise all Frenchmen, through they have never seen one in the flesh. Nor have they ever seen a monkey. But this brutish, bestial castaway tallies with the vague impression they have of the enemy - this alone is enough for the ape to find himself court martialled.