A tiny penguin town in the frozen north. All the penguins live in their own little igloos and work at various jobs. Some of them fish and some of them build the igloos, etc., just like a human community. Tony the penguin lives in a small igloo on the outskirts of the penguin settlement. His father is a fisherman and Tony is getting old enough to start helping him. His father has taught him all about safety in the water and everything else that he needs to know about fishing; now Tony just has to learn how to swim. He is terribly afraid of the water and he is too ashamed to admit it to his father. How is he ever going to help his dad if he can't swim? Before it's all over, Tony learns that it's ok to be scared, but you have to learn to face your fears. He also learns that while trying something for the first time is scary, it usually turns out to be a lot of fun by the time you're through.