Soon after a baby is born in a small Arctic village, her parents learn of a prophecy: In order to restore nature's delicate balance, Ani will spend her girlhood training for the honor of someday marrying a bowhead whale, leaving humanity and spending the rest of her life with her new mate. Ani wants to do the right thing and fulfill her duty, but as a young adult, she has other loves and other plans for herself. Cataclysmic events in the waters around her, and some difficult discoveries on land, eventually force a choice.