 With a fundamentally Christian message, this book also depicts the work of the Shipwrecked Mariners and Fishermen Institution.  Although there are incidents at sea, most of the action takes place in the small fishing village of Wreckumoft, and the town of Athenbury.  One of the great values of Ballantyne's books is the insight he gives into life in Britain in the nineteenth century, not just the day-to-day lives of the actors, but the motives that propel them, and the upbringing that these actors had.  We are, however, mystified by the title, which made one think that the book might be something to do with ballooning!