Vancouver photographer Thomas McCall's summer gets off to a rocky start when his hearing-impaired 12-year-old daughter arrives for a visit (with pet ferret in tow), his parents' marriage hits the rocks, his assistant unaccountably botches a batch of film, his girlfriend pushes for a commitment he can't make, and the houseboat he lives on starts to sink. In other words, the usual complications of a busy life. Nothing he can't cope with. That is, until...