The book ends with Syn returning to his home of Dymchurch to resume his life as a vicar. Imogene dies in childbirth and Nick, the seducer, is hanged as a pirate.
Doctor Syn on the High Seas was published in 1936. Though it is the second book written in the series, this novel is the first in terms of the sequence of events in Syn's life. It is followed by Doctor Syn Returns.