Twin sisters Winnie and Dora are accustomed to conflict. Their fisherman father stirs up resentment among the locals with his modern fishing techniques and dominates his household with his violent temper. His ambition for his daughters is to see them married well, but, although Winnie shares his aspirations, Dora loves local miner's son Tom. Winnie marries wealthy businessman Nathan Zeal, whose cousin, attractive older widower Zachariah, shows an interest in Dora.
Mitch is a 25-year-old with commitment issues. Leonard is a five-year-old kid with asthma and vision problems, who captivates everyone he meets. Pearl is Leonard's teenage mother, who's trying to hide a violent secret from her past. Life has given Pearl every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force...