A rickety brigantine puts out to sea for Mexico, but when the pump fails, the resolute Captain, square-jawed Rock Hudson heads to Honolulu for safety. He's plagued by his insolent, diabolical First Mate (Arthur Kennedy, of course) and a cool temptress with a past (Cyd Charisse, of course). The rest of the motley crew and passengers are an eclectic bunch, portrayed by some fine character actors. The plot development is as slow as the voyage and the climactic storm is the low budget kind. But all sea stories, by their nature, are somewhat suspenseful.