A young teacher, Eva Nygaard, arrives in Greenland from Denmark to surprise her fiancé, the Doctor Erik Halsøe, but is crushed to find he has not waited for her and he is about to be married to his assisting nurse. Eva travels to a small fishing village to await the next ship back to Denmark. There she enters into a tense and often confrontational relationship with Jens, a quiet moody Dane who manages a trading company outpost. Meanwhile, Jens is trying to persuade a Greenlander named Pavia to become a company fisherman, despite Pavia's fear of alienating his fellow villagers and upsetting the spirit, Qivitoq.

The children Julian, Dick and Anne spends a summer holiday at the Kirrin Farm, where there cousin Georgina lives with her dog Tim, and her parents. The tomboyish Georgina is punished for her poor school performance, and her father hires a private teacher.