On the very shore of the sea there once lived an old man and his wife, and the old man had three sons. The eldest son loved the sea, but it punished him for his insolence. The middle son used to talk to the sea, but it stopped answering him. The younger son was swallowed up by the sea, which took him with it. After many long years of wandering, the three brothers reunite on their native island of Sakhalin to restore the connections they lost and finally say farewell to their sea.