In small town
Alaska 1988, Adam Carlson, a news reporter, recruits his ex-girlfriend Rachel – a
Greenpeace volunteer – on a campaign to save three gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. Adam names the father
Fred, the mother
Wilma, and the infant
Bamm-Bamm. Drawn into the collaborative rescue work are several normally hostile factions:
Inupiat whale hunters, a
Greenpeace environmental activist, an oil executive, ambitious news reporters, the
National Guard, the American president and politicians on the state, national, and international levels. Also joining in the effort are two entrepreneurs from
Minnesota, who provide de-icing machines to help keep the hole open. Finally an enormous
Soviet ice-breaker ship arrives to remove the last barrier before the whales die. The ship's first attempt leaves only a dent. The ice is finally broken and Fred and Wilma escape the ice. Bamm-Bamm dies from injuries and does not surface again. The epilogue, narrated by Nathan, reveals that McGraw used his new reputation to uphold a contract to clean up the
Exxon Valdez oil spill, Karl and Dean's de-icers made them local celebrities, Scott and Kelly were married, Jill worked her way up to a national news network, Greenpeace membership became more prominent, Adam confesses his love for Rachel and she returns his affections and they share a kiss, Adam got to stay being a news anchor, and both Nathan and Malik became closer to one another, and Nathan recalls about the hole in which the whales were first found and quotes, "It kept getting bigger and bigger, until it let the whole world in." ==Cast==