For seven generations Duncan's family has fished off the coast of Newfoundland. Now, the fish are gone and with them, the old way of life. Duncan notices that his father is spending the days staring out to sea, watching television and baking bread and pies. Many families have left town in search of work elsewhere. Even Duncan's mother is beginning to suggest that they, too, join the exodus to the mainland.
One day Duncan goes to visit his teacher, whose model train set sits on a Newfoundland-shaped board. As Duncan watches the miniature engines whizzing around the board, he is struck with a very original idea - a way to combine his father's newfound baking skills with his experience as a ship's skipper.