<n 2004, during a brutal storm, a Malaysian cargo ship runs aground off the coast of Alaska. One of the most incredible Coast Guard rescue missions of all time is set in motion.

In the blinding snowstorm, two Coast Guard H-60 Jayhawk helicopters race to the scene to save as many of the vessel's crewmen as possible, before she sinks or rolls over. Through gale-force winds, all but nine are hoisted by rescue basket to safety. But during attempts to save the last crewmembers, one of the Jayhawks is engulfed by a rogue wave and crashes into the sea. The men who had been hoisted into the aircraft, along with the chopper's three-man crew plunge into the ocean where hypothermia sets in immediately.