With the look and feel of a documentary, this riveting British WW II-set drama centers on the exploits of the Lt. Commander of a corvette, a small but speedy British Royal Navy warship. He is a man consumed with guilt after his ship, the Compass Rose is torpedoed by a U-boat, causing the deaths of many crewmen. Later he is on his new ship when he finds himself faced with a life and death situation upon the ruthless ocean. The plot is based on a novel by Nicholas Monsarrat.