At midlife, Jeanne Lutz takes stock of her life and doesn't like what she a dead-end, low-paying job and family problems. Jeanne feels like a failure, so, tired of waiting for life to change, she changes it herself and fulfills a lifelong desire to seek adventure. Despite a lack of seafaring experience, she joins the Merchant Marines.
The work is brutally exhausting and her shipmates eye her warily at first, but she perseveres, determined to show them, and herself, that she can do it. With fortitude and bravery, she learns that she is not defined by her past but by the strong, courageous, compassionate woman she has become.