The novel begins in the 1790s in the coastal town of Monks haven against the background of the practice of impressment during the early phases of the Napoleonic Wars. Sylvia Robson lives happily with her parents on a farm, and is passionately loved by her rather dull Quaker cousin Philip. She, however, meets and falls in love with Charlie Kincaid, a dashing sailor on a whaling vessel, and they become secretly engaged. When Kincaid goes back to his...