Local Hero

Felix Happer selects MacIntyre, an ambitious employee with a Scottish-sounding surname, to negotiate acquiring Ferness for Knox Oil and Gas. Mac is uneasy about the assignment, preferring business done over the phone and via telex. Happer's project frames a high-stakes relocation of a village rather than a routine purchase.

Happer gives Mac the unusual instruction to watch the sky and report any unusual signals. The directive foreshadows the movie's blend of corporate maneuvering and cosmic imagery. Mac accepts the task with a wary sense of intrigue.

Mac travels to Scotland and teams with Knox representative Danny Oldsen. They tour a Knox research facility in Aberdeen where Dr Geddes explains the plan to replace Ferness with a refinery. They also meet Marina, a marine researcher whose presence hints at broader ambitions.

Mac spends several days in Ferness, gradually adapting to the slower pace and forming friendships with locals, especially Gordon Urquhart and his wife Stella. He becomes increasingly conflicted as he presses to close the deal that would demolish the village he has come to love. The villagers, while weary of hardship, feign indifference to push for a larger offer.

The villagers reveal they are ready to sell but pretend indifference to coax a higher bid. Their ruse exposes the tension between relief from sale and attachment to place. Mac's position grows tougher as he navigates their ambivalence and Knox's demand.

Victor, a cosmopolitan Soviet fishing boat captain who visits Ferness, quietly encourages Mac by noting his own portfolio managed by Gordon. His outsider perspective adds a peculiar, profit-driven counterpoint to the village’s plight. The dynamic underscores the clash between corporate aims and local loyalties.

Danny befriends Marina, who feels more at home in the water than on land and has webbed toes. On a date, he learns Marina's dream of oceanographic work and her belief that ships' legends about mermaids are wrong. Her revelations deepen the sense that Ferness could become a hub for science rather than a casualty of the refinery.

In the United States, Happer's therapist subjects him to a barrage of verbal abuse that escalates into a dramatic showdown. The harassment culminates with the therapist climbing to Happer's window and scrawling insults, prompting Happer to call the police. He decides to depart for Scotland, hoping a change of scene will settle his doubts.

Gordon reveals that Ben Knox, an aging beachcomber, owns the land by grant from the Lord of the Isles. Mac tries to entice Ben with a fortune, offering to buy any beach anywhere, but Ben remains content with what he has. He finally proposes selling for the number of grains of sand in his hand, a figure Mac notes could not be more than ten thousand.

Happer arrives on site and negotiates with Ben Knox, discovering a kindred spirit who values small, stubborn truths. He decides to relocate the refinery offshore and instead establish an astronomical observatory, aligning industry with science. He sends Mac back to Houston to implement this revised plan.

Danny suggests merging Marina's dream of an oceanographic research facility with the proposed Happer Institute, a concept that pleases Happer. The idea reframes the project as a science-driven enterprise rather than a demolition of Ferness. The plan cements the new direction for Knox Oil and the Scottish coast.

A somber Mac returns to Houston, spreading pebbles and shells from Ferness on his work surface as a reminder of the village. The ritual marks a personal concession to the changed plan. In Ferness, the local phone box starts ringing, hinting that the village and its contacts will persist in some form.