 The time is winter, 1993. The place is a small fishing village in Newfoundland. Sebastian, a handsome, hardworking fisherman in his early thirties, is in a slump of bitterness and despair. The previous spring, the Government had shut down the cod fishery on the Atlantic coast, putting Sebastian and anyone involved in the fishery out of a job. One day, to rekindle their strained relationship, Sebastian s girlfriend, Jenny, suggests they fly to the French island of St. Pierre, off the Newfoundland coast - to get away. The journey begins but not by plane; rather by boat over storm-filled seas. No sooner are they on the French island than they become entangled with another couple, Marie and Michel. What ensues puts Sebastian and Jenny s relationship to the test, and prompts Sebastian to make a decision that alters his life.