After Japanese forces torpedo his submarine during World War II, commanding officer "Rich" Richardson (Clark Gable) is placed in charge of the USS Nerka. The crew on board the Nerka -- led by Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster), who had been passed over for promotion when Richardson was brought in -- is openly hostile to their new commander, especially when it becomes clear that Richardson's sole obsession is finding and destroying the Japanese ship that sank his old vessel.