An aging coal barge captain, Chris Christopherson, is living a quiet life on the New York waterfront. He receives a letter from his estranged daughter, Anna, who has just been released from a hospital in Minnesota and plans to visit him. Chris, plagued by a sense of guilt over having abandoned Anna in her youth, looks forward to a chance for reconciliation. When Anna arrives, she is initially guarded and weary from an exhausting journey and a difficult past. Settling into life on the barge, father and daughter begin to rekindle their bond, though Chris is unaware of the hardships Anna has endured over the years.

As Anna adjusts to her new surroundings, she meets Matt Burke, a robust and forthright sailor recently rescued from a shipwreck. There is an immediate and powerful attraction between Anna and Matt, which soon blossoms into romance. However, Anna grapples with her own hidden secrets and the fear of them being uncovered. She struggles with her past experiences while attempting to forge a new life with Matt. As their relationship deepens, tension escalates as Anna must confront both her father's dreams and her own haunted history. Each interaction with Matt brings Anna closer to a life she never thought possible, though challenges loom with the need for truth and acceptance on the horizon.