In a family saga that spans the Twentieth Century, Owen Winthrop ruthlessly controls a small California fishing village. When his daughter Hattie is born, he dotes on her until as a young woman she becomes involved in a torrid affair that ends in a grisly murder. His love turns to hate, he locks her away for the decades left in his life. When she emerges, she begins a journey that leads her from pariah to sainthood as she attempts to atone for her father's sins.