New England fisherman Dan McQuade finds a dying woman and her daughter shipwrecked after a storm and raises the daughter, whom he names Coral. After Dan reveals how he found her, Coral, who secretly builds sand sculptures, creates a life-size statue of a mother and baby. Wealthy artist Philip Norton and his self-centered bride Helen come on their honeymoon to the bay where Dan and Coral live. Coral, awed by Philip's talent, gives him a statue and they begin a friendship, which provokes Helen's jealousy. When Dan dies, Philip brings Coral to his parents' home in New York, where Helen plots to have her suspected of stealing a diamond.