China Rock

Gambling is a path to ruin, and Augie's Pop knows it too well. In his youth, he bet the horses and won a world of trouble. Fleeing the East Coast tracks, he headed to the Pacific and the work of commercial fishing.

In the midst of the Great Depression, he must take another gamble to feed his children. Against his better judgment, he signs on to the Carolina, an aging fishing trawler from the San Juan Islands. It's an open secret that the captain of the Carolina is up to no good.

When the Carolina disappears off the coast of Vancouver Island, Augie is left to feed his brothers and sisters, and wonder about the fate of his father. In this small town world, everyone plays it close to the vest, and only two mysterious corpses offer up any clues.

China Rock provides a look at the hardscrabble lives of young and old during the difficult 1930's. Through the lens of a youngster who yearns to understand the making of his family, the story shows us the making of a man.