Captain Jack is an old geezer who creates the life he hopes to live before he dies. He is generous to a fault, bribes his family, his employees and their proposed marriage partners to go north, convert to Christianity, and join and eventually own his newly acquired business shipping freight among the islands of Alaska. He is a successful author, an accomplished craftsman, a builder and a man whose hard work, courage, generosity and greatly inflated self-image impacts an Indian village, a town, assorted small businesses and three generations of his family. With plenty of time to spare before he kicks it, the bucket is emptied.