It's late 1940 and the San Demetrio, a tanker, is carrying 12,000 tonnes of aviation fuel across the Atlantic to assist in Britain's desperate fight against the Nazis. When the convoy is surprised by German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer, the San Demetrio is badly damaged and begins to burn, leaving the crew with no choice but to take to the lifeboats in the treacherous November Atlantic. After a terrible ordeal in an open boat, one group of crewmen are relieved to see rescue in the form of a ship on the horizon. There's a problem though - it's the San Demetrio, and she's still on fire...