The Golden Mary is sailing towards the Californian coast. There is a motley group of passengers – a man hoping to make money in the gold rush, an estranged fiancé, a mother and her child heading to meet the father. The ship is tragically struck by an iceberg and sinks. Luckily all the crew and passengers are moved safely to two lifeboats. The people though alive are far from safety as they float stranded on the open sea with minimum food and water between them. While they wait for rescue, they tell each other stories.