The decades after the War of 1812 were years of introspection for the fledgling American republic. Having twice prevailed against the military might of Great Britain, there was now no power on Earth ready, willing, and able to take on the United States. As America entered the 1840s and began expanding its dominion over North America and opening lucrative overseas markets in Asia and elsewhere, all that was needed to secure its place in the world was an alliance with a like-minded nation with the naval resources to guarantee the integrity of global trade routes and the financial rewards accruing to both parties of such an alliance. Captain Richard Cutler commands the new United States steam frigate Suwannee on a mission to the South Seas to the distant shores of New Zealand.