The movie opens in the Pacific Northwestern town of Noyo, California, where local fishermen's livelihoods are threatened by the introduction of a new salmon cannery. While some townspeople support the cannery, local fisherman Johnny Eagle vehemently opposes it, advocating for the preservation of independent businesses. A representative from the cannery, Hank Slattery, confronts Johnny, displaying aggressive bias and claiming the community doesn't recognize the potential benefits the cannery could bring for their prosperity.

In the next scene, a group of fishermen led by a man named Deke is out at sea, fishing. They sense they have caught something in their nets and begin to pull the rope, indicating a crucial moment in their fishing venture amid the larger conflict over the cannery's impact on the community.