Three retired sea captains living together in genteel squalor. They scheme to improve their fortunes by having one of them solicit a bride through an ad in a Boston newspaper. The loser of a coin toss must get married and take in the other two as boarders. But upon the arrival of the Nantucket woman selected from the applicants, the captains get cold feet.
After years of service, the Captain of the Setuckit Life Saving Station on Cape Cod retires, Calvin Homer, the second in command, Calvin Homer expects to be promoted; but the appointment goes instead to Bartlett, a religious fanatic who has been the recipient of a good deal of favorable newspaper publicity. Calvin hands in his resignation.
The Allen spinsters adopt Bradley Nickerson, who grows up with Gussie Baker, the little girl next door. Fifteen years later he is first mate of the Thomas Doane, owned by Granny Baker. A plot to sink the ship is averted by Bradley and a sailor, but ultimately the ship is sabotaged.
