While most of Cape Breton's youth leave for the excitement and opportunity of the big cities, twenty-seven-year-old Scoggie Watson remains, clinging to the things he cherishes most: the waters of Lake Bras d'Or, his hand-built sailboat, his freedom, and the friends who stayed behind. This is his story. It is a story that includes the hearty determination of some of the island people, a government scheme to develop marine farming on the Bras d'Or Lakes, and a mysterious stranger who has remained Scoggie's hero since he was fourteen years old.