Set in Alaska after World War I, the film follows the rise of Zeb Kennedy and Thor Storm, two men who shape Baranof’s economy and its precarious balance between industry and community. Zeb climbs the cannery ladder, befriending Wang, a Chinese worker, and Storm, an idealistic fishing-boat captain. Together they dream of building a cannery in Baranof, but romance complicates matters when Zeb falls for Bridie Ballantyne, Storm’s fiancée. Although the feeling is mutual, Zeb chooses money over love and marries Seattle heiress Dorothy Wendt Kennedy.
When Storm discovers his fiancée’s infidelity, a brutal confrontation leads him to strike Zeb and flee into the wilderness on a dog sled. Zeb then launches a packing company in Baranof, bringing in Wang and his old friend Dave Husack. His relationship with Bridie remains a constant, even as his wife becomes aware of the affair. The Kennedys welcome a daughter, Grace Kennedy, whose presence will echo through the town’s layered loyalties.
Storm returns to Baranof with an infant son, Christopher Storm, born to an Eskimo wife who dies after labor. Over the years, Storm grows to resent Kennedy for the cannery’s use of salmon traps, which threaten the livelihoods of many fishermen. Meanwhile, the children, Christopher Storm and Grace Kennedy, begin a romance of their own, weaving personal ties into a web of political and family intrigue. Zeb urges Storm to keep his “half-breed kid” away from his daughter, a line that underscores the deep-seated tensions between the families.
Storm, drawing on the support of fishermen and Alaska natives, becomes a candidate for the Alaska Territorial Legislature, championing statehood and opposing the excesses of business mogul “Czar” Kennedy. Christopher and Grace elope to live among Christopher’s maternal relations in the village of Anavak, and Grace’s mother, Dorothy Kennedy, dies, setting the stage for further conflict. Grace becomes pregnant, and the couple decides to travel to Baranof so that the child is born there. They set off by dog sled, but Grace goes into labor en route and Christopher is killed by a bear; Zeb, along with Thor and Bridie Ballantyne, intercept and shoot the bear. Grace gives birth to a baby girl, Christine Storm, before she dies. Christine grows up between the Ballantyne and Kennedy households, a constant reminder of the feud that divides the families.
Kennedy hones his political influence by grooming Bay Husack, the son of Dave Husack, to be his champion in the territorial legislature and even encourages the young lawyer to marry Christine for political gain. Ballantyne, not blind to the schemes, exposes the plot and the engagement is broken. Storm heads to Juneau but a snowstorm forces him to crash on a glacier. Ballantyne persuades Kennedy to undertake a dangerous mission to save Storm and his Eskimo pilot, Ross Guildenstern. Storm survives, and his speeches before Congress help secure Alaska’s statehood. In a final, conciliatory gesture, Storm grants thanks to his erstwhile opponent Kennedy in a radio address that marks a turning point for the territory’s future.
