Don't be turned off by the title. This is not just another tale of breaking down the gender barriers in the workplace, although it does cover that factor. And it is also the sad story of our shrinking merchant marine fleet. The book starts off with a rush by describing the rescue of the ship Lyra during a terrible storm off the coast of North Carolina. Heading south to be sold, the Lyra has broken her tow and is drifting rapidly toward Cape Fear near Wilmington.
Generators start, only to fail at crucial moments.
Deck machinery does not respond to normal commands and it is discovered that the rudder has been jammed at 20 degrees off center and has to be repositioned by brute force for a very long time. . The landlubber Foster spent 40 days aboard the Charlotte Lykes, an express container ship that makes runs to several ports in the Mediterranean. We see part of the huge web the modern shipping industry weaves around the oceans of the world. The fuel cargo weighs 50,000 tons. Perhaps some of the most interesting sections derive from Dempsey's recalling some of her voyages previous to the Charlotte Lykes, working her way up through the ranks.