Owen Winthrop, the profligate son of a New England business tycoon, has offended the town's morals one last time. His father disowns him and sends him into exile with a sizable amount of money he can waste or use to make a life for himself. He comes to California where he discovers a small fishing village with an abundant harvest of sardines. The fishermen make very little money off the catch, since most of the profits go to the canneries in Monterey...