A young man, Dale Katzman, a college student from an
Ivy League school "near
Boston" takes a summer job as the night cook in the galley of the Seaway Queen, a lake boat bulk carrier on the
Great Lakes for a Chicago-based steel concern. Dale's predecessor, Guigliani, endured a particularly violent end while on terra firma, the cause and nature of which is speculated by the other crew members. Dale gets to know each of them, including: Fireman, who reads voraciously when not "watching the gauges"; Fred, who imparts his unique, politically incorrect philosophy regarding women on the young man; and, especially, Joe Litko, a 23-year veteran of the seas, who sees much of himself in Dale. ==Cast==