Stone Barrington is enjoying a boating excursion off the Maine coast when a chance encounter leaves him somewhat the worse for wear. Always able to find the silver lining in even the unhappiest circumstances, Stone is pleased to discover that the authors of his misfortune are, in fact, members of a prestigious family who present a unique business opportunity, and who require a man of Stone's skills to overcome a sticky situation of their own.

When Caroline Oresteia, seventeen, finally has a chance to be a wherryman, she gets caught in a web of politics and lies, with her father's life at stake.

A cocktail waitress, a no-talent band, two old men, and a gang of drug smugglers are trapped together aboard a gambling ship off the Florida coast during the worst tropical storm in years, where their lives intersect in unpredictable ways.

Buckley and his mother cope with the loss of their father/husband by sending small wooden boats, built by Buckley, off into the ocean.