Typhon is a classic story of the sea. The long story describes the exploits of Captain MacWhirr in dealing with a tropical typhoon under the command of the steamer Nan-Shan. The novel is set in a ship between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. MacWhirr, a stolid man, shy and simple, ignored by his family, exploited by his wife and mocked by his crew, refuses to change course to avoid the arrival of a typhoon: however, his iron determination in facing him redeem him in the eyes of his subjected.