A young Leif leaves his home country of Denmark in 1875 and takes to the seas, working aboard whalers for ten years. While visiting a small Danish village, he meets and falls in love with Maren, the blue-eyed daughter of a theologian that Leif has admired for a long time. When his sailing takes him to a lush island in Puget Sound, USA, he decides to settle down and sends for Maren. They marry and raise a family of four: Lars, Ben, Hannah, and baby Christian. A tragic accident takes the life of the baby Christian and scars Maren's body. The entire family is devastated by the accident and react...