With skirts or a captain's cap, there is no question of women on board.
Anna is an eighteen-year-old raised by her father, a former sailor, with a passion for the sea.
She meets Leo, a long-time captain, who introduces her to life at sea.
At school she finds her first love, Zani, who however abandons her to go on a ship.
After finishing school, she too seeks a job, takes a boy's name, Ambrogio, and sets out for Lisbon to meet Clarice, a shipowner, with whom she hopes to secure a job. Unfortunately, Clarice's fleet is stolen.
Later Ambrogio meets Sante, falls in love with her, but his ship will leave the next day.
Finally he meets Leo again, who no longer sails, and convinces him to take command of an old cart, on board which he will be the ship's mate.
But Leo will not leave, instead the ship will be commanded by Torwald, a very experienced Norwegian
