The year is 1899. The young girl Marie, who lives in an orphanage with her two younger siblings, is sure her father is still alive somewhere in the world. In the hope of finding him, Marie therefore decides to run away and disguise herself as a boy to hire a freighter. On board the 'Håbet' is also her siblings who have been adopted by skipper Andersen and his wife, Agnete. Life as a ship boy is both hard and challenging, and Marie quickly gets an enemy in the shipping director's snobbed son, Mr Vinkel.