A sea-faring Captain is deeply ashamed of his son, whom he feels will not one day want to assume the family tradition of fisherman. Instead, Artur seems fascinated with ships and carving models of them, one of which wins him the government grand prize, and the opportunity to design a new ship that Artur calls The Albatross. Converted to a troop ship during the war, its hulk later lies resting in the water and is sold for scrap. But the ship seems to have a life of its own, as a scrap dealer and the Heap discover.