It is 1944, and merchant oil tanker the Richard travels unaccompanied from Melbourne, Australia, to Abadan, Iran. With little warning, the ship is torpedoed by a Japanese U-boat, with the crew forced to abandon ship within minutes. What follows is a desperate fight for survival, as 38 men struggle into the final remaining lifeboat. Cast adrift over a thousand miles from land with little food, no water and at the mercy of the elements, the men must battle not with their country's opponents, but with each other, with the conditions - and ultimately with themselves.
