Traumatized by a boat accident at sea many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when Donna deAngelo, bar singer and nomad, and her troubled teen-age daughter, Noelle, enter Joe's life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the already present friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe captains his ship on a mysterious sea voyage up the Alaskan coast, only discovering after it's too late that the trip may end up costing them their lives.