A debutante ball should be a time of joy in a young lady's life-a time for introduction into polite society and to potential suitors. But for Alyssa Craycraft, the joy and excitement lasts for a total of two days. On the third day, she's taken by a man who feels her older sister slighted him by marrying another. Forced to cross the Atlantic to England, Alyssa clings to the hope that she can escape her captor and return to her home. When an opportunity for escape presents itself, she disguises herself as a boy and flees. Desperate to get home, she slips aboard a ship. Mistaken for a job applicant, she is hired as a cabin boy for what seems to be a beast of a captain. As she works in the presence of this overbearing, handsome man, she finds that the thought of being held in his arms is more tempting than ever returning home. Captain Noah St. John believes the presence of women on a ship brings bad luck, although he loves their presence in his bed. When he discovers his cabin boy is actually a beautiful southern and very innocent female stowaway, he must decide whether to take her home or take her back to England. But the longer he is in her presence, the more her beauty and wit intrigue him. As his mind and body battle his attraction to her, will he have the strength to push her away or will he fall victim to her innocent seduction?