Young Priest Mark Brian (Sir Tom Courtenay) is sent by his Bishop (Dean Jagger) deep into the seacoast wilds of British Columbia to a parish of Kwakiutl Native Americans called Kingcome. The Tsawataineuk live in an inlet village and take their sustenance from the sea and from the forest. The Bishop has not told him this, but the Priest has only two years left to live. Amongst these vanishing Indians, Mark Brian learns enough of the meaning of life not to fear death. Through his faith in humanity, he becomes part of the village, of the Indians themselves, and witness to their rituals and beliefs and the gradual destruction of a culture. Then, on a cold winter evening, when he hears the owl in the forest call his name, he understands what is going to happen.