When Lady Dona St Columb becomes exasperated with her high and fancy lifestyle in King Charles II’s court in London she takes her children and moves out to her husband’s second home, Navron, in Cornwall. Eager for an escape, some peace and quiet, she spends much of her time lazing around in the gardens and playing with her children in a manner that would have been considered quite inappropriate for the times. When she hears that there has been a spate of burglars in the nearby estates and that the perpetrator is some kind of pirate, she is more concerned that her husband does not come to ‘protect’ her than she is about her safety. More prominent in her mind is to solve the mystery of where her servant William disappears to at night, and who his illusive Master is. When she re-traces William’s steps down to the creek one day, all the mysteries are solved as she is kidnapped, taken on board ‘La Mouette’ and brought face to face with the Captain.

The French captain is able to offer Dona everything she never knew she wanted; a life of passion, excitement and freedom, as well as, of course, teaching her about birds and fishing. During the course of their tryst, Dona learns that real passionate love can exist, and that there can be complete ‘compatibility’ between two people. She masquerades as the Frenchman’s cabin boy and accompanies him on a voyage to steal a ship from one of the men intent on bringing him down, whilst her children are left in Navron under the care of their nurse. But just as Dona thinks life couldn’t get any better she is brought back to reality by the arrival at Navron of her husband and his friend Rockingham, ready to fight the pirates. As the Frenchman hatches his one last plan to truly embarrass the Noblemen, will he be successful? and what will Dona decide when she has to make the ultimate decision of whether she is ready to leave with him or stay faithful to her husband and children.