Follows the true story of Richard Hanrahan from age nine when he is ripped away from the safety and comfort of the schoolroom to the seasonal shore fishery on Newfoundland's South Coast in the late 1800s. Later, hardening into premature manhood in the Banks fishery, he at once strives to mould himself into the stern shape of his fisherman father, yet longs to escape and find a better life for his own family.