Sophie Loveridge's family is uprooted from the comfort of their home in England when her eccentric father — inspired by the new novel, Robinson Crusoe — decides to move the family to the New World so he can write an epic poem about surviving the rugged winter conditions. When the only help they have — a skilful fisherman — dies, it is up to Sophie and her mother to make sure the family survives until the spring, when the next fishing boat will arrive in their isolated cove.