Set in the Caribbean, U.S. expatriates Tony (Jack Lemmon) and Felix (Robert Mitchum) cruise around the ocean and eke out a meager subsistence using their small trawling boat to transport cargo. When they take on the job of smuggling illegal-immigrant beauty Irena (Rita Hayworth) to another island, the two friends find their friendship torn apart by their mutual romantic feelings toward her. Though jealousy has split them apart, fate intervenes to bring the two back together.