Though he has never taken a steamer any farther than Long Island Sound or up the Hudson River, Rollo, age 12, soon will be embarking on voyage far across the waves. His parents have been traveling in Europe, hoping the vacation will improve the health of Mr. Holiday. His continuing illness, however, means they cannot return to America any time soon. So Mrs. Holiday suggests relatives put Rollo and his sister Jane on the steamer to cross the Atlantic for England -- under their own supervision!
Things go a little awry from the first -- for their packed-full trunk mysteriously disappears -- but soon Rollo and Jane are on the first of their many adventures overseas, in this fact-filled and entertaining adventure.