In the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, Captain Victor 'Pug' Henry commands the USS Northampton while navigating family challenges, including his sons' naval service, his wife Rhoda's affair, Natalie's difficult decision regarding Italy, and Pamela Tudsbury's world tour with her father reporting for the BBC.

In early 1942, Pug Henry commands the USS Northampton while Pamela Tudsbury and her father are in Singapore, where they are warned by a journalist about the island's vulnerabilities, as Natalie Henry and her uncle Aaron struggle to obtain exit visas from Italy amidst growing threats.

The Henry family reunites to celebrate Warren and Janice's anniversary, with Byron applying for a transfer after learning Natalie and Aaron were not evacuated from Italy, as Pug and Warren prepare for the Battle of Midway, where Warren has a more significant role than Pug.

Natalie, her baby Louis, and Aaron Jastrow attempt to escape Italy but are rerouted through Elba and Corsica to Marseilles, where they are helped by a local Jewish family and Natalie reconnects with her Jewish heritage, while Byron serves in Gibraltar and Rhoda ends her affair with Palmer Kirby.

Byron and Natalie reunite in Marseilles but are advised against leaving France without documentation, leading Byron to return to Gibraltar as they await a prisoner exchange, while Pamela Tudsbury reports from Egypt and Pug's ship is damaged in the Pacific.

Pug returns to Washington for a new assignment in Moscow, where he struggles with the lack of recognition for lend-lease efforts while attempts to evacuate Natalie, Louis, and Aaron from Lourdes fail, leading Byron to report for duty on a new submarine.