The death, a year before, of Weem Lowrie, husband to Jess and father to James, Bethany and Innes, has, in words that the fishing community of Buckie might use, left his wife and children adrift and rudderless. As well as being the head of the family and the centre of their lives, Weem also dominated his three children from birth and shaped them as he saw fit. Now that he has gone they must come to terms with what he has made of them.
Frustrated and unhappy in the marriages that their father had forced them into, James and Bethany must try and alter the course of their lives - James longs to take over his father's place and be skipper of the drifter but he is frustrated by his Uncle Albert, who keeps a tight grip on his own position of power. Bethany, meanwhile, longs to escape from the life all the local women lead and instead find an outlet for her pent-up ambitions and energy. Innes, the youngest, hates the sea and must find the courage to cope with his brother and sister's scorn. For Jess, change comes in the form of Jacob, her childhood sweetheart. Every bit as ambitious and charismatic as Weem was, he still wants Jess and is armed with the power and wealth to split her family apart...