West Barnstable, Massachusetts., 1860
Captain James Jenkins, part of a family whose livelihoods are tied to the sea, is now a merchant captain married to Ruth Fish.
Together with their daughter Minnie, James and Ruth live aboard the merchant ship Hoogly as they cross oceans, endure unimaginable loss and watch their country devolve into brutal conflict.
Back home Ruth’s brother Josiah is swept into the Civil War while away at sea, risking everything to fight for the North, while Ruth’s father spirals into mental illness.
Aboard the Hoogly, they take on a ship's cook, Thomas, who escaped slavery through a network of abolitionists. Ruth and the crew faithfully record Thomas’s story word for word, detailing his harrowing flight to freedom.
Ruth and James sacrifice everything for each other and discover that the life they had run from now beckons them home.