Hugh Reid is a fisherman from Scotland's Orkney Islands who grew up listening to the dusty stories told by dusty men. Young and stubborn, he never gave them much regard, always dismissing them as mere remnants from the islands' Norse settlers. However, an unusually harsh season of spring storms throws him into contact with legendary beings and forces him to not only become aware of his magical heritage, but to also embrace it in order to save the world from suffering a fate of eternal winter. A powerful spae-wife, a wise Nuggle, and a magical dian-stane prove to him that the mythical world is much more real and much more dangerous than the stories ever hinted at. With his new-found selkie sister and finman father at his side, Hugh must learn the wild ways of magic in order to restore the balance of the seasons, and he must do so faster than is fair.