Jesmark, a Maltese fisherman, contends with a newfound leak in his wooden luzzu boat. Barely getting by, he sees his livelihood - and a family tradition from generations before him - imperiled by diminishing harvests, a ruthless fishing industry, and a stagnating ecosystem. Desperate to provide for his wife and their new-born son, whose growth impediment requires treatment, Jesmark gradually slips into an illicit black-market fishing operation.