The adventure begins when Jodie Hayes leaves home to work on a Caribbean cruise ship. From the small town of Christchurch in Dorset she journeys to London and flies out to America for the experience of a lifetime. Her travels on the MS Spring Sun eventually take her through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of the American continent to Alaska. Chief Petty Officer Kalvin Wheeler is bowled over by Jodie's vibrancy, honesty and love of life and soon a romance develops between the strong, silent ship's officer and this confident, outgoing young woman.