A Maine lobster fisherman, trained as an architect, prefers to be a fisherman over the objections of his fiancée. The latter, a welfare worker for the state, finds a home for a 12-year-old orphan who loves the sea. He and the fisherman become friends but the fiancée, fearful of the dangers of sea life, forces the fisherman to restrict the boy from his boat. Denied the life he loves, the boy, in retribution, steals a camera and is sent to reform school. The couple marries and succeeds in getting a judge to grant a petition allowing them to adopt the boy.