Tom Hand, back from a summer at sea aboard a sea scalloper, chooses to drop football and join the fledgling UMass crew team. His father, bitterly disappointed, struggles with gambling debts, drinking, and poor work performance. When Tom's grandfather, Phil Swenson, who has been helping the new crew coach around the boathouse, is gravely injured, Tom's parents turn to an inexperienced financial advisor. Without Phil's strong presence the family starts to come apart....