The novel opens through the first-person narration of Harry Morgan, a charter boat captain who ekes out a meager living during the Great Depression by running rich people on deep-sea fishing trips from Key West to Cuba. On this particular trip, Harry is approached by three Cuban men who want to use his boat to ferry a group of Chinese men back to the United States. Harry, who doesn’t move cargo that “can talk” (5), refuses; even though the monetary reward would be impressive—$3000—he will not do anything that risks losing his boat to the government.

As the three Cubans leave the coffee shop, they are ambushed by two men with automatic weapons. All three Cubans are violently killed while Harry watches from the café window. It makes him feel “pretty bad” (8), and he steals a sip of liquor from an open bottle before sneaking out the back door and finding his way back to his boat.

Back on the boat, Harry and his drunken ship hand, Eddy, prepare for another fishing expedition with the charter passenger, Mr. Johnson. Johnson has chartered the boat for the past three weeks but has not paid Harry a single cent, minus the cost of gas.