The cargo ship (short: Kümo) ‘Henriette’, a ship that is no longer brand new but beloved by its crew, is something like a second home for the Petermann family. The family consists of the owner and captain Hinrich Petermann and his wife Margot, grandma, grandpa and their two daughters Gerda and Karin. The older Gerda would have liked to pursue a career as a nautical officer and captain, but as a glasses wearer, this was not possible for her. So she did an apprenticeship as a bank clerk and works in the savings bank of a small town behind the Elbe embankment. Her younger sister Karin did not even try her hand at seafaring and opted for the advertising industry instead. Like all true Petermänner, however, the two young women cannot stand being without a ship for long.