Embarking from England in the early 1800s, seventeen-year-old Lavinia Andrews and her family land in the tiny Newfoundland settlement of Cape Random, a remote fishing outpost set in a stark, rocky landscape on the edge of the sea. Here the Andrewses find themselves among a strange and intriguing group of outcasts with whom they must eke out a living. As the community grows—struggling to survive against the dangers of starvation, accident, and illness—deep friendships develop, as do marriages, rivalries, and intrigues, all set against the backdrop of the magnificent and wild ocean.