Dorthea Gordon comes to a fishing village with her ill-tempered brother, Walter. She rows out to a rock to sketch the seals, but her boat drifts away and the rising tide sweeps her into the water. Her predicament is seen by Jack Livingston, the fisherman son of the village minister, and he rescues her. The pair begin seeing one another, but Walter thoroughly disapproves. When a gossip implies that Livingston's attentions are less than honorable, Walter confronts him and is killed in the ensuing struggle.
