The first episode of 1899 opens with a distraught woman in a mental hospital who is having trouble remembering who she is.

"Get up." A whisper is heard, and our main character, Maura Franklin, responds.

Maura is traveling on the Kerberos, a sizable vessel headed for New York. But news stories are circulating about the Prometheus, a ship that has been missing for the past four months.

It's interesting to note that Maura's cabin shares the same number as the one she was in at the psychiatric unit.

On this ship, there is a diverse cast of characters, people from all walks of life and of various nationalities. There is the snobby Mrs. Wilson; a newlywed French couple named Lucien and Clemence who is obviously not in love; and Cantonese immigrants named Ling-Yi and her mother.

Everyone on board appears to be fleeing from something. Unexpectedly, a man with scars running up the side of his face rushes in. He needs a doctor, but he doesn't get one—at least not until Maura pursues him and offers assistance.

One of the passengers is quite pregnant and in a lot of pain. Maura succeeds in saving the day.

She encounters Captain Eyk Larsen as she returns to the deck. He remarks that she shouldn't be in Third Class. Maura has no business there because she is a First Class traveler.