Brightbill the goose leads his flock of geese back to their home island after their winter migration. As they fly, they see container ships transporting cargo across the ocean below them. When they land on the familiar island, Brightbill uses “the language of the animals” (4) to call his mother, Roz, the robot.

Brightbill catches up with his mother and all his animal friends, including Chitchat, the squirrel who is now a mother. A seagull named Gale calls for help, and they know something is wrong if a gull has come this far inland.

All the island animals congregate on the beach around a sick seal whose eyes are closed and his nose is bleeding. The seal says, “The poison tide is coming!” (9) and explains that it became caught in polluted water while hunting, forcing it to swim back out into the open water for safety. The seal is too sick to say more, so Roz helps it back into the water, where it swims underwater and out of sight.