The omnipotent presence of a mothballed aircraft carrier, long forgotten since it's heyday of recovering Apollo moon missions, begins to make itself know to three generations of residents in the sleepy island town of Alameda, adrift in the San Francisco bay.

When real estate mogul Gavin Ransom announces his plan to cover California's northern coast with scores of mini-mansions, his environmentalist sister, Olive, launches a protest to stop him. But there's trouble ahead when Gavin begins falling for the pretty folk singer who's helping Olive's cause.