Eleven-year-old sternman Josie wants red and gray sawtooth mittens like his lobster boat skipper, but the village knitter, Aunt Agnes, makes him old-fashioned compass mittens with lines that point the directions. When their boat gets lost in a thick fog, however, Josie and the skipper both find out the old-time mittens hold the key to getting them home safely—there might be some magic knitted into them.