Lord Jim. Joseph Conrad. 1988.

Jim, the first mate aboard the Patna, dreams youthful dreams of heroism and of the daring act that will prove his courage.

But when the Patna, on a night crossing of the Arabian Sea, collides with a mysterious obstacle, Jim panics and jumps free. This single act of cowardice drives him to self-enforced exile as a white trader in the remote tropical outpost of Patusan.