Eben goes out fishing one day, rowing six miles from his island home towards the harbor on the mainland, hauling in cod as he goes. But a porpoise tangles his lines, fog rolls in, and an accident leads to a broken oar. Lonely, tired, and adrift, Eben is almost ready to give in to the embrace of the sea, when rescue comes in an unexpected form. The Old Mainer and the Sea is an allegorical tale about the circular nature of hope and deliverance.