The inhabitants of Fort Niles and Courne Haven Islands have been fighting over lobster territory for generations. In the middle of the current lobster war is Ruth Thomas, the daughter of a successful Fort Niles fisherman. Ruth is also the granddaughter of the wealthy and dominating Ellis family. Neither wanting to go to college as expected by the Ellis', nor work on a lobster boat as expected by her father, Ruth, idle and directionless, spends her time with the widowed Mrs. Pommeroy, her surrogate mother, and Senator Simon, an eccentric collector of artifacts for a museum that does not yet exist. Not until Ruth falls for a young man from Courne Haven does she take control of her life and put into motion a plan to end the lobster wars and the Ellis reign.