Ellen Dower, wife to Edward Dower and proprietress of their fishing firm, was a lady of standing in the little town of Conche, Newfoundland. Hers was an unrivalled beauty, and she was a revered and respected advisor to her neighbours in times of trouble. Maurice Power was a man about whom little was known. A tyrant and savage to those few who knew him, the man kept mostly to himself. But he had big plans for Edward and Ellen Dower and the town of Conche.