The story is told through the eyes of Willie Keith and has two plots. The central plot is Willie's life in the Navy. The story shows Willie's transformation from a lazy officer to the efficient and competent, last captain of the Caine. The primary focus of the novel is about Captain Philip Francis Queeg who Willie and the other officers find petty, strict, unreasonable, and incompetent. Eventually, the officers abscond the ship from the Captain through a mutiny. Through legal maneuvering, the court-martial of the perpetrator becomes the Captain's court-martial. Through this trial, the officers deal with questions concerning insanity and competency related to Naval authority.
