 Frederic has been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Having reached his 21st year, his indentures are now over and he can return to normal life. He meets, and falls in love with the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley - and they decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General s daughters, themselves - and Frederic s birthdate turns out to be not all it seems.