After her father, a prominent Natchez businessman, loses their fortune and home in 1850, Julienne Ashby aims to resuscitate their last possession - a dilapidated steamboat - to make a profit and restore the Ashby name along the mighty Mississippi. Desperate for help, Julienne hires Dallas Bronte, a captain whose drinking has scarred his reputation. The struggles they face are as challenging as the mutual feelings of love and hate they must sort out....