Stricken by tuberculosis, an Inuit hunter named Tivii lands in a sanatorium in 1950s Quebec City, where he finds himself alone in a foreign world, unable to communicate with anyone and his will to live fading. Fortunately, a compassionate nurse recognizes his plight and arranges to have an orphaned Inuit boy transferred to the hospital to act as Tivii's translator. The two form a bond, and hope springs afresh in this sensitive drama.