In the summer of 1807 the HMS Explorer recovers a young man shipwrecked off the coast of Siam, who can only remember his name. Abel soon becomes friends with the first officer, acting as a captain because the commander of the ship has absconded with the ship's treasure. Abel returns to England with the Explorer and finds accommodation at the inn run by the three fugitive captain's daughters. Well before he can recover his memory, however, he will discover something deeply disturbing about himself, and he will understand the true nature of some of the people who helped him.