The Makah whaler, Quanah, believes that taking a whale will validate his Indian identity, connect him with his great-grandfather, and create solidarity between coastal tribes. Alana, the lawyer who defends him, asks his help in solving the mystery of her grandfather’s disappearance. A ten-man whaling crew, representing many coastal and one inland tribe, train secretly, and when the time is ripe, they’re ready to row their hand-crafted canoe through the night to intercept a gray-whale migration in the north Pacific Ocean. After a successful hunt they are taken into custody by the US Coast Guard and jailed. Environmental lawyer and whale lover, Alana Svoboda, who moved to Seattle on a quest to solve the mystery of her grandfather’s disappearance, is chosen to defend the whalers in federal court. For Quanah, the blond Makah whaler and crew leader, the “taking of whale” is part of his quest to prove his Indian-ness, connect with his ancestral heritage, and bring cohesion to coastal tribes. As Alana decides how to defend him, she learns about the west-coast Indians, whales, the Circle of Life, and herself.