1930. Hamilton, Ontario. The boathouse colony is under siege. The squatters' shacks that line the shores of Dundas Marsh stand in the way of an ambitious politician's "City Beautiful" plans. When a handsome drifter settles there, Egypt Fisher and her mother both fall under his spell. No one expects Egypt's gambling con-man father to return after a six-year absence, but he does and he's furious. Unhinged by jealousy and a harrowing brush with the local mafia at a cockfight, he reveals a family secret that sets Egypt's world off-kilter and poisons her relationship with her mother. When Egypt tries to turn the situation to her own advantage, her lies set in motion a series of events with heartbreaking consequences.