For most of the book the five main characters are shut together in the confined space of the cabin quarters on a 500 ton ship, The Broken Heart, sailing from Salcombe to Virginia and then on to the Spanish Main. They are Captain Margaret, a practical idealist with a commission to trade and to aid the Indians of Darien against the Spaniards; Captain Carmmock a splendid old pirate, who commands the ship; Edward Perrin, a shy and frail little homosexual, Stukeley, a brutal bully and fugitive from justice, and Olivia his beautiful wife. ÔAs the weeks and months at sea go by, nerves are strained to breaking point and violence build sup, Captain Margaret has been for years the silent lover of Olivia. Perrin is in love with Captain Margaret and has a feminine affinity for Olivia, who recognises him as Òthe nearest thing to a lady in the shipÓ. With Captain Cammock, Margaret and Perrin are united by a growing hatred of Stukeley, who plays on their weaknesses and dominates them more and more as he sees how they shrink from opening OliviaÕs eyes to the character of her husband.