"Rockbound," as stated in the title, is the name of a small fake island inspired by East Ironbound, a tiny fictional island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Rich but hazardous fishing grounds surround Rockbound; storms, fog, and winter weather isolate her. The strictly moral and greedy Uriah Jung dominates two rival families, the Jungs and the Krauses. A brutal, regimented environment confronts the teenage David Jung when he arrives on Rockbound to choose his inheritance, a small portion of the island. His tensions, both internal and external, keep him in a survival fight. Whether it's the water, his negative actions, his closest friend, or his secret affection for the island teacher, his adversaries are always defined by his family's ambitions for wealth and power. Rockbound presents a picture of relentless effort, clever hatred, and familial discord in the years before World War I. Based on the loss of the fishing schooner Sylvia Mosher on August 9, 1926, during the 1926 August Gales near Sable Island, the book conjures the Atlantic Ocean's unfathomable strength, horror, and brutal beauty.