The Captain and the Lady is set in the pre-Revolutionary War province of New Jersey. Sally Waitt, a young girl, wishes to be a sailor in her father's fleet of ships. But with her mother's death, Sally's life changes as she becomes the mistress of the plantation and their homes in the city of Boston and the coastal town of Marblehead. Through her father's contacts, she meets a handsome captain and will be surprised by the turn of events in her life.