The wealthy consul of a Norwegian coastal town, Karsten Bernick has devoted everything he has to his one great project, the construction of an enormous shipyard. His determination to see the scheme through has brought him into conflict with the town’s community of fishermen, who see this as a threat to their livelihood. One day, Bernick’s estranged brother-in-law, Johann Tonnessen, makes an unexpected return from America. Now a member of a travelling circus, Johann attracts the interest of Bernick’s young son, Olaf, and his adopted daughter, Dina. When Johann learns that Bernick did nothing to quash rumours that he had stolen money from his former employer, he threatens to reveal Bernick’s dark secret – that he is Dina’s natural father…