[2] The film begins with Edwards recalling her childhood in England: the death of her father due to a heart attack when she was 10, and her mother's remarriage to an abusive alcoholic who moved the family to Wales.

After being expelled from school at the age of 16, Edwards ran away from home and traveled in Europe, ending up in Greece, where she became a stewardess aboard a yacht and learned to sail on her way to the Americas.

Edwards mortgaged her home to buy a second-hand yacht, renamed her Maiden, and remortgaged the boat to pay for her refitting, which was largely performed by her crew.

Maiden debuted at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival[5] and was later released by Sony Pictures Classics in New York and Los Angeles on 28 June 2019.

The website's consensus reads, "Enthralling viewing even for audiences with little to no knowledge of or interest in sailing, Maiden pays powerful tribute to a true pioneer.