Rulers of the Sea plot
David Gillespie served as "first mate" on a sailing ship. Losing crew on the trips worries him. Gillespie meets John Shaw, an engineer from Liverpool, who claims to be able to build a steam-powered engine that can carry a ship safely across the transatlantic ocean. The two decide to do business together. Gillespie has to deal with Mary, Shaw's skeptical daughter. The banks and shipbuilders don't like it either. In the end, the plans go ahead and Shaw begins to build the engine. Then their ship burns down and all the effort seems to have been for nothing.