Sixteen-year-old Jeannie spends most of her time at Scarborough Harbour. She is a net mender and herring girl, just like her mother. When she meets Harry, a fisherman from Hull, she falls head-over-heels in love with him and soon finds herself pregnant. Her oldest childhood friend Ethan is devastated--he too was in love with Jeannie but never found the courage to tell her. Harry's dour grandmother tells Jeannie that they must marry, despite him being out of work. They do so, and begin a life in the hub of Hull's fishing community. But it is not long before Jeannie realizes she has made a terrible mistake. Jeannie is met with joy and tragedy when she gives birth to a beautiful baby boy, but her husband's grandmother dies soon afterwards. From this moment, their marriage drifts apart. Harry leaves her for another woman and Jeannie is left destitute save for the occational work on the fishing quay.