For 15-year-old Steve Henderson and his 13-year-old sister Tamara, city life comes to an end when their mother is killed in a road accident. Their parents divorced, their father's whereabouts unknown, the kids go to live in the country with their uncle, Mike Henderson, in a small fishing and timber milling town called Haven Bay.
The town is in bitter confrontation between mill workers and a property owner, Ashley Wheeler. Both, Steve and Tamara find an enemy in Wheeler. He wants the point-and he'll resort to any trickery to get it. This becomes even more complicated when Steve finds the girl of his affections is Wheeler's daughter.
They quickly learn that country life is not easy. Steve in particular resents being uprooted from the city to live in a "dump" like Haven Bay. Gradually they make friends-firm friends-with Cowboy and his gang. They share their adventures and schemes, their triumphs and disappointments, and eventually they learn to love the country.