Three generations of women, each with a special attraction to water, yearn to find where they belong. Ernie, 70 years old and ailing, is a dowser who finds underground water with a stick. Veronica, 38, has moved inland after many years near the sea, only to realize how powerfully she misses it. Her 19-year-old daughter, Simpson, feels an affinity for a tranquil mountain lake that soon yields a terrifying secret.

Living in forced togetherness far from the ocean, the women struggle against the weight of responsibilities they long to escape. Not until they understand that it's possible to be a daughter of the sea anywhere does each one finally make the pilgrimage that will set her free.