On Halloween 1991, 200 miles off the Gloucester, Massachusetts shore, a collison of monstrous storms leaves the swordfishing boat, the Andrea Gail, stranded in the high seas, defenseless in what meteorologists have called "the storm of the century."

At the helm is the dedicated but grizzled captain Billy Tyne who takes his crew out for one last run for the season in the hopes of making a lucrative catch. But the trip is a gamble, as for the best fishing the crew must head to the dreaded Flemish Cap -- an area of ocean noted as much for its bad weather as it is for its good fish.