The film opens with U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Jordan (Joey Forman) responding to a number of pleas for help from sailors off the coast of Southern California. This is the type of event that the Coast Guard has to put up with on a regular basis, and it is one of the reasons why Jordan requested to transfer to a new station. He is handing over the reins to Ensign Tom Garland (Robert Morse), a polite but remarkably clumsy fellow who will now report to Commander Taylor (Don Ameche), a man who fought in World War II with Garland's father and holds him in high regard.