Native Alaskan salmon fisherman Johnny Ingman leaves for the fishing grounds and mysteriously disappears. A relentless investigation by Johnny's close friend, Alaska Wildlife Trooper Chuck Kolinsky, highlights deep conflicts between traditional values and outside forces and ignites an acrimonious public confrontation between him and an crowd of angry fishers at a fish buying scow in a cove on the fishing grounds. The event sparks new insights which allow Kolinsky to identify the killer.