Wilkie, the cabin boy, Lefteris the cook, Dimitris the first mate, Bugsy the seaman, Manolis the captain, Nikos down below in the engine room and Yannis the seaman have embarked on a merchant ship which - as though it is running on railroad tracks - operates the run from Europe to distant Korea and back without taking them anywhere. The ports are only points of departure and aboard ship time appears sluggish and dull. Loneliness, reluctance and dreams are all they have for company. With them there are another seventeen seamen, evenly divided between Greeks and Philippinos and all around them there is always the sea - magical, terrifying and unknown.