Flora Maguire, a young governess, is on her way home on the SS Minneapolis after the wedding of her employer's daughter. She meets the charming Bunny Harrington on deck on the first night, after having avoided the dining room, conscious of her status among the first-class passengers. Flora finds the body of a man at the bottom of a companionway, but when his death is pronounced an accident, she is not convinced, and, having experienced her own tragedy as a child in the form of her mother's disappearance, is driven to find out the truth. Flora starts asking questions, but following threats, a near drowning during a storm and a second murder, the hunt is on in earnest for a killer. Time is running out as the Minneapolis approaches the English coast. Will Flora be able to protect Edward, her charge, as well as herself, and uncover the identity of the murderer? Is her burgeoning relationship with the handsome Bunny Harrington only a shipboard dalliance, or something more?