When a towering, blue-eyed Scandinavian sailor finds himself stranded in a foreign port, he leaps aboard a leaky merchant bark as a last-minute hand. Unschooled in the language and customs of the sea, he endures the brutal pecking order of the forecastle with a serene, uncomplaining strength. His only constant companion is a scheming, rat-like shipmate who shirks work, hoards scraps, and nurses a simmering hatred for everyone aboard.

As the ship drives south through fair weather and furious gales, the tall sailor becomes an unlikely anchor for the weary crew, learning the ways of canvas and helm with astonishing speed. But beneath the surface of routine, danger waits—both from the treacherous fellow sailor and from the indifferent ocean itself. When disaster strikes and survival hangs by a thread, the limits of human decency and vengeance are tested far from land.