In the year since the Morning Star sailed away from Nantucket Patience Goodspeed has navigated a ship and outwitted mutineers but this time she faces her biggest challenge yet: boarding school! Now instead of mathematics and navigation Patience is forced to study sewing and French. To make matters worse Fanny Starbuck the most empty-headed widow in Nantucket has shown up in Hawaii and seems to be after Papa's hand in marriage! Not if Patience has anything to say about it!