Under the watchful eye of their fisherman father, Turi and Teresa live on a small Sicilian island. Reserved, slim and clumsy , 14 year old Turi is to join his father in the tuna trade. Fearing he will be rejected, Turi becomes competitive with the more athletic and talented boy Leonardo who also works on the boat with his father. Meanwhile on shore, 10 year old Teresa begins to lament the daily absence of her brother as playmate and companion. Their lives continue to change, but the Sicilian island with its history going back to antiquity and its adherence to tradition remains the same. As this story of the daily rituals of work and the cyclic habits of a lifetime continues, the two siblings find life is unforgiving, but now without rewards and it forges their souls for adulthood. This contemporary fable combines with reality to create a picture of a harsh, yet beautiful world.