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.