Two Inuit families meet for a summertime celebration. Food is abundant and the future seems bright, but Ningiuq, a strong and wise old woman, cannot stop worrying. She sees her world as fragile and moves through it with a pervasive sense of dread. Ningiuq sets out with her grandson to a remote island, where they dry the catch and store it for winter. The task is finished and the warm season comes to an end, as they wait in vain for the others to pick them up.