Americans Sara, an oceanographer on a climate-change assignment, and Jonathan, a writer and trailing spouse, arrive in Orkney, Scotland. He wants to start a family. She’s reluctant. Greeted with a mix of warmth and suspicion by the locals, Sara finds herself at the center of the conflict between preservation and exploitation. Spurned by anger over the death of a young fisherman, an activist exposes that Sara’s research is tied to a corporation seeking drilling rights, further isolating the couple. Sara finds that she’s pregnant but hides it.  As Sara writes her resignation letter, Jonathan takes part in the New Year's Day ocean plunge. Sara has a change of heart about the pregnancy and rushes to tell him, only to find that he has drowned.