A novelist attends the trial of a woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. But as the trial continues, her own family history, doubts, and fears about motherhood are steadily dislodged as the life story of the accused is gradually revealed.

Marek starts as a trainee on a container ship. It’s 197 meters long, 30 meters wide, and bound for Martinique. Full of anticipation, he leaves his parents’ farm in Western Pomerania and goes on board at Saint-Nazaire. Marek wants to find freedom and falls in love with the enigmatic sailor Jean. Will it just be a fling or will it last forever? Does Jean actually have a lover in every port? On his trip across the Atlantic, Marek may not actually become a sailor, but he does grow up. A romantic coming-of-age trip over the Atlantic and a maritime boy’s dream about love under the conditions of modern cargo shipping.