When a luxury liner is upturned by a tidal wave on New Year's Eve, ten survivors struggle to stay alive as they seek a means of escape. Resourceful man of the cloth Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman) assumes responsibility for his fellow passengers, who include a pop singer, an elderly Jewish couple and a New York detective.

When a luxury liner is upturned by a tidal wave on New Year's Eve, ten survivors struggle to stay alive as they seek a means of escape. Resourceful man of the cloth Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman) assumes responsibility for his fellow passengers, who include a pop singer, an elderly Jewish couple and a New York detective.