 Miss de Barral leads a sheltered life for as long as her father is prosperous, but at other times must rely on the generosity of others, who resent her or have agendas for her, before she escapes by marrying one Captain Anthony.Much of the book involves the musing of the various narrators over what she and the Captain expected from this union, and what they actually got from it.When her father is released from prison, he joins them on the ship, and the book heads towards its denouement.