The story follows young Nicholas Tremaine, the heir to the wealthy Tremaine family estate. When Nicholas, along with his parents, Sir Walter and Lady Tremaine, are presumed lost at sea after their ship sinks in a storm, the family believes they have perished. However, unbeknownst to them, Nicholas survives the shipwreck and is washed ashore in a small fishing village in France, where he is taken in and raised by a kind French family.