On behalf of the French king, equipped with the most modern equipment and accompanied by equally important and curious scientists, Lapérouse sets sail - hoping to discover a patch of land where the English flag has not yet been raised. Driven by a sense of duty, idealism, vanity, or sheer necessity, the two ships carry very different adventurers. One thing unites them all - from the simple sailor to the self-important naturalist - the willingness to risk their lives for a discovery that will secure their place in the history books. When they finally encounter the long-awaited 'terra incognita' in 1788, merely a small island in the South Seas, their excitement is long overshadowed by the horrors of their journey so far. In 'The Last Explorers,' Naomi J. Williams conjures.