Synopsis:
When a ship of Americans and Britons is sunk by a missile from a German U-boat during WWII, the survivors must cope with the elements - and each other. The motley crew includes a wealthy, snobbish photo-journalist, a seaman who is a communist, a nurse, a mild-mannered radio operator, a seriously wounded Brooklynite, an insufferable businessman, a black steward and a mother driven half-mad by the death of her baby, whose body she is still carrying when she is pulled onto the lifeboat. Unfortunately, they know nothing about navigation, or survival at sea, and quickly begin to turn on each other. And when they pull the Nazi U-boat Captain out of the sea they have no choice but to trust his superior survival skills, even though the course he is steering is back to his boat, and he is taking them as prisoners of war.