Typee recounts the exploits of Tom, a runaway sailor, on the South Seas island of Nukuheva, from his capture by the Typees, by reputation ''a fierce and unrelenting tribe of savages,'' to his daring escape when he realizes they have no intention of ever letting him return to his former life. Melville's first book and a bestseller, Typee is a story of South Seas customs, rituals, and society, and a provocative critique of civilized Western life.