Zelda, a young woman whose husband is lost at sea, and her 12-year-old daughter, Perdita, live off the coast of Scotland on the small island of Skua. The islanders believe Zelda is a witch, but her sister, Annie, says Zelda is just "different." Certain that her husband will never return, Zelda drowns herself. When lobsters, the islanders` main source of trade, suddenly disappear, the people decide that Zelda has put a curse on the sea for taking her husband`s life. As a result, the orphaned Perdita is banned from school, taunted by other children, and branded by the community as "the witch`s daughter."