The captain of a salvage ship discovers a derelict freighter and rescues the sole surviving crewman, a half-crazed officer who recounts the terrible tale of the vessel's fate before it finally sinks. Back in port, the officer's story is not believed, so he seeks his rescuer's help to recover evidence from the seabed. Seafaring adventure, with Charlton Heston, Gary Cooper, Michael Redgrave and Richard Harris.

A disgraced merchant marine officer elects to stay aboard his sinking cargo ship in order to prove the vessel was deliberately scuttled and, as a result, vindicate his good name.