'An Outcast of the Islands' is the second novel by Joseph Conrad, inspired by his experience as mate of a steamer, the Vidar. The novel details the undoing of Peter Willems, a disreputable, immoral man who, on the run from a scandal in Makassar, finds refuge in a hidden native village, only to betray his benefactors over lust for the tribal chief's daughter. The story features Conrad's recurring character Tom Lingard, who also appears in his novels 'Almayer's Folly' and 'The Rescue', in addition to sharing other characters with those novels. It is considered by many to be underrated as a work of literature.