With her only child off to college, Sarah, a divorcée, is overwhelmed with emptiness. Her home overlooking San Francisco Bay is quiet, and her work with young children is routine. Most of all, her heart has become an excruciating vacuum. When she meets a very sexy and charming Englishman tending his sailboat, Sarah makes an impulsive decision. It takes little to persuade her to join this mysterious sailor for an around-the-world cruise as his second mate, despite her amateur knowledge of sailing. At first, warm winds, lust, and romance fill her days as they journey to the South Pacific. Soon her romantic idyll is rocked by the stormy seas as the dark side of her captain is revealed against the harsh backdrop of sailing. As life on the water becomes unforgiving, Sarah finds herself plunged into an abyss of fear and confusion, and ultimately, the greatest challenge she has ever faced.