This moving parable of wealth and the evil it can bring is based on a Mexican folktale. The simple life of Kino, a pearl fisher, changes for ever when he finds a great pearl, a pearl as large as a seagull's egg. The story is of the finding of the pearl, the dreams it represents and its loss. Kino is blind to the greed, fear and even violence the pearl arouses in his neighbours - and in himself - and the promise of great wealth and a better life for Kino and his family brings nothing but misfortune and enemies.