local danville attorney phineas pratt (clarence wilson) claims the man died in debt, but he actually has swindled his daughter mary sheridan (julie bishop, billed under her real name, jacqueline wells) out of her rightful inheritance, including the family home, forcing her to move with her husband tom sheridan (phillip trent) and their infant son, king (baby leroy) to a dilapidated ferry called the "fairy queen"—supposedly the one item left of the estate.