A retired coasting skipper, Captain Hagbred, spends every day preparing for when his son will finally come home back home to him. They had parted many years earlier on less than good terms and Hagberd had received no word of his son's whereabouts or health in many years. Yet, despite their bitter parting and the lack of correspondence, Captain Hagberd had somehow convinced himself that the boy was only one day from coming home. In fact, he was so certain of it that he had been hoarding his wealth like a miser, creating a suitable home for his wayward son's return.