With his father away at sea, ten-year-old Morten is left to the care of his bossy Aunt Anna. He spends his days retreating into his fantasy of becoming a sea captain like his father. After a strange illusionist appears in the neighborhood, Morten finds himself the size of an insect on board his very own toy ship, a miniature world with strong parallels to his real life. Morten must navigate his way home using his own skills to avoid disaster and face the Spider Queen who controls the ship.