Laced with the solace of the great outdoors and infused with the spirituality of Indians on the local reservation, The Sky Fisherman is set in a small town in Oregon, where the interwoven currents of love, death, and a boy's coming of age flow swiftly below a surface life of hard work and confrontation with the forces of nature. The lives of young Culver, his twice-married mother, and his charismatic uncle Jake are shadowed by the death of Culver's father in a fishing accident.

When a suspicious fire destroys the town mill and three murders occur, Culver is engulfed by the dangers swirling around him.