1850: A sea-chest full of books arrives for Antonio Mateus Carvalho Cabral, the younger son of a family of whalers on the small volcanic island of Pico ... The Carvalho brothers - handsome Marcelinho and clever Antonio - are destined to spend their lives hunting whales. But the arrival of an unexpected gift changes both their lives forever. As the younger Carvalho discovers the fascinating world of the whale, a chasm opens between the two brothers, made all the more perilous by their shared pas...