The exciting saga of ambitious men tempestuous women and stormy seas! Set in England in the 1860's when British naval strength was the envy of Europe this saga charts the fortunes of an ambitious clever and determined ship owner whose private life is more tempestuous than the seas he sails. James Onedin (Peter Gilmore) is the son of a waterside shopkeeper who has died and left him with no inheritance. All James has is a legacy of 25 franks and a shrewd business mind. Despite his scheming sister and her husband who run a rival shipping company he is resolute in his attempt to start a shipping line in a changing world. Onedin is ruthless but far-sighted and with steam a possibility for the future he swiftly embarks on his rise from impoverished seaman to wealthy ship owner and founder of The Onedin Line.