The diary of a wife who, with their five-year old daughter, accompanied her husband on a three-and-a-half year whaling voyage.

Mary Patten, the wife of a clipper ship navigator, finds herself in the world's most dangerous ocean waters off Cape Horn and in command of the ship's mutinous crew when her husband falls ill.

A retired boatswain has repeatedly asked his landlady to marry him -- but his advances are consistently rebuffed by the confirmed bachelorette. In a misguided attempt to change her mind, he cooks up a plan to convince her that she needs to have a man around to ensure her safety.

Includes music.

Describes the whaling industry and its significance in America during the nineteenth century, and discusses crew members, working conditions, life for family members left ashore and those on board, and the end of whaling.