In a Swiss village at the end of the 1930s, a boy is born with a gill-like wound on his neck. It hurts when it dries out, and has to be watered regularly. As a result, little Moses Binswanger spends more time in the surrounding streams and ponds than in his family home, with his loving but unhappy mother and his rough father, who finds his own son and his ›watermark‹ creepy. Moses also retreats to the water when he cannot bear being around people anymore; wherever he goes, he is met by a mixture of horror and fascination. Women especially are fascinated by his ›watermark‹. But love proves to be a dangerous whirlpool which may tear lovers down into deadly depths.