Noah Wells is a last minute replacement crew member on a 70 foot sailboat set to race nonstop around the world.
All goes well until they are well East of New Zealand in the inhospitable Southern Ocean. A Rouge Wave turns an exciting race into a race for survival.
The huge wave hits Windhaven, taking all their communications, rendering the engine inoperable, and taking several of the crew. Noah and "Iron Lady" Leigh Tag, though injured, fight for days to keep Windhaven afloat. Once the storm has passed, they work for months through crisis after crisis, performing medical procedures they are untrained for to reach South America thousands of miles away.
During their months at sea one thing prevents Noah from giving up - Quinn, a woman he met the night before he left. As cliche as it sounded to him, she was the One. He had to survive to see her again. Quinn felt the same way about him, until she thought she didn't.
Close to shore, Noah, Leigh and Thomas, minus a leg, have been through too much, with good reason, to believe they are safe. They refuse to leave Windhaven until she sinks, or is safely tied up to shore.
