Christine Sixkiller is a young First Nations Haida woman accompanying her father and uncle on a boat trip to tow a harvested whale back to her community. At sixteen, Christine is learning how to pilot her father’s fishing boat and learn how to navigate.

Well experienced, she makes several mistakes, including overlooked tidal changes, placing all aboard in danger of running aground or sinking. Overcome with fear and a lack of knowledge causes her to panic. Her father is unrelenting, insisting that she figure out how to avoid a catastrophe on her own.

Through it all, Christine is developing into a genuinely independent young woman, conscious of women’s changing role in the world. Nothing is beyond her reach, and she intends to ensure that she takes her rightful place in the world of successful First Nations women.