Dedicated to the island of Guernsey, where Hugo spent 15 years in exile, Toilers of the Sea tells the story of a Guernsey man named Gilliatt, a social outcast who the locals believe to be a wizard, and his love of Deruchette, the niece of a local woman who owns the island’s only steam boat. When her aunt's ship crashes on a reef just off the coast of the island, Deruchette offers to marry the person who is able to salvage the engine. Gilliatt sets out to accomplish the mission, and the novel follows his journey and troubles along the way. After battling an octopus, uncovering the mystery of his haunted house and returning the engine, he refuses to marry Deruchette after seeing the proposal of Caudry, a young, handsome priest who lives on the island. After repairing the ship and marrying Caudry and Deruchette, Gilliatt drowns himself while watching them sail away. Critics believe the work provides commentary on the life of a social outcast and compare Hugo in his exile to Gilliatt the fisherman. Adapted into several silent films in the early 1900s and into an interesting motion picture called Sea Devils in the 1950s, The Toilers of the Sea remains a mysterious novel that leave critics guessing after every read.