A businessman marries Maria, the daughter of the rich professor, not for love but for personal gain. He betrays and humiliates her but she hides his despicable character from both her father and society at large and takes comfort in the company of a ship’s lieutenant. They fall in love but agree to interrupt their impossible relationship. Pregnant with her lover’s child, Maria decides to follow her heart and join him at sea but a series of dramatic events awaits them.