Returning to the village of Bayport after twenty-two years, retired sea captain Cyrus Whittaker finds the community under the power of political boss Herman Atkins. Cy opposes Atkin's choice for the position of teacher and helps to elect Miss Daws instead, thus earning the enmity of the politician. One day, a young girl named Emily Thomas arrives with a note from Sarah Oliver, a relative of Cy, explaining that the girl is the daughter of his old sweetheart and that her father is in jail and her mother dead. Cy develops a deep attachment to the girl and all goes well until Richard Thomas, Emily's father, leaves prison and arrives in Bayport looking for his daughter. When Cy begins to search for the man who defrauded Emily's grandfather, Thomas and Atkins form an alliance against the sea captain and demand that he drop the suit or lose custody of Emily. Fearful of losing Emily, Cy concedes to their demands until Sarah arrives and recognizes Atkins as the man who robbed Emily's grandfather.