It is 1740 and Louise Fletcher, a young maid, has always been warned of the lure of the sea that stole away her father and brother. But when offered work serving a wealthy captain's daughter in the bustling naval port of Harwich, she leaps at the chance to see more of the world. In a Harwich tavern, fifteen-year-old Luke is beaten and press-ganged, sent to sea against his will on the warship Essex. When their worlds collide, the consequences are astonishing.